BLVM 
ENTH 

EX    A  I     UB 

as  A. .  _/  RIS 


SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION. 

UNITED    STATES     N AT I O N A L     M U S E U  M  . 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND   TRANSPORTATION 


OTIS    TUFTON    MASON, 

<  'urat.  i .  ,  >rf,i ,  r»/rnt  ,>  <  t-tlinolajty^  I'.  .V.  Natinnnl  Museum. 


Krom  the  krport  o(  the  11.  S.  National  Museum  tor  1894,  pagrx  337-593, 
•.vith  |i!iit«-s  i-  2<;  ami  fig\in-s  i-a*o. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVKKNMKNI     CKINTINC    OFFICE. 
1896. 


ML 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


I.  Introduction 239-254 

II.  Foot  travel:  Special  costumes,  head  gear,  rain  protectors,  etc 255-274 

III.  Aerial  locomotion:  Tree  climbing,  ladders,  etc 275-280 

I V.  Snow  goggles 281-305 

V.   Foot  wear: 

( ieneral  tyj** 300-381 

Snow-shoes 381-410 

Ice  creepers 410-414 

VI.   Man  as  a  carrier: 

Carrying  of  baskets 415-489 

Carrying  of  children 490-587 

Carrying  of  adults 538-544 

VII.   Man  and  animals  in  traction:  Domestication  of  animals,  harne— .  - 

vehicles,  etc ">44-57."> 

VIII.  Roads  and  travelers'  convenicin  ,-. .  .  :>7.V5!t:> 


PRIMITIVE  TRAVEL  AND  TRANSPORTATION. 


By  OTIS  TUFTON  MASON, 
Curator,  Department  of  Ethnology,  P.  .S.  National  Muxeum. 


GENERAL    STATEMENT. 

Invention  has  to  do  with  the  resources  and  forces  of  nature  applied 
to  human  weal.  In  the  earth,  the  waters,  and  the  air,  in  the  composite 
activity  of  the  sun,  in  cosmic  matter  and  powers  little  understood,  are 
to  be  found  the  materials  and  servants  by  whose  ministrations  the  cun- 
ning spirit  of  man  effects  those  artificialities  of  life  and  culture  which 
constitute  the  body  of  human  industries,  aesthetic  arts,  languages, 
social  life,  commerce,  philosophies,  and  cults. 

The  complete  account  of  the  human  species  acquiring  the  resources 
of  nature  and  dominating  and  understanding  her  forces  is  the  history 
of  culture. 

The  human  species  has  approached,  and  in  its  best  estate  does  now 
approach,  the  material  resources  of  the  earth  under  the  impulse  of  five 
sets  of  motives,  to  wit: 

(1)  To  explore,  secure,  and  domesticate  them. 

(2)  To  change  their  form,  to  manufacture  them. 

(3)  To  move  them  and  themselves  artificially. 

(4)  To  exchange,  measure,  and  value  them. 
(n)  To  consume  or  to  enjoy  them. 

The  progress  of  the  world  started  with  these  five  primitive,  funda- 
mental activities.  It  is  the  purpose  of  the  present  publication  to  con- 
sider the  third  class,  in  their  earliest  forms  and  in  relation  to  the  others, 
so  far  as  they  are  illustrated  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum. 

The  manipulation  of  the  material  resources  of  nature  involves  in 
the  second  place  the  knowledge,  the  domestication,  and  the  training  of 

239 


240 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


force  or  power,  which  ma\y  be  thus  set  forth  in  its  sources,  epochs,  and 
sciences. 


Power  of— 


1.  Man 

2.  Beast 

:t.  Elastic  springs 

4.  Fire... 


Epoch  of— 


The  hand 

Domestication 

War  and  banting 

Mastery 


Science. 


5.  Wind The  sail 

6.  Water Rude  machines 

7.  Steam Machinery 

8.  Chemism !  Scientific  industry 

9.  Electricity Ideal  invention  in  speech 

light,  and  motion. 
10.  Light Cosmic  invention 


AnthropokinetioH. 
Zookinetics. 
Elaterokineticd. 
Thermokinetius  or 

pyrokinetics. 
Anemokinetics. 
Hydrokinetics. 
Atmokinetics. 
Chemykinetics. 
Electrokinetics. 

Photokinetics. 


Among  these  sources  of  motion  or  motors  it  will  be  quickly  noted 
that  the  first  two  derive  their  activity  from  animal  muscle,  the  rest 
through  some  sort  of  device  that  takes  the  place  of  the  human  body. 
It  will  also  be  understood  that  for  the  purposes  of  invention  the  pow- 
ers or  forces  may  again  be  divided  into  two  classes,  the  first  being 
man  power,  the  second  class  including  all  the  rest  enumerated.  All 
artificial  work  goes  back  to  man,  all  work  is  imitation  of  man's  work, 
the  primitive  form  of  every  moving  device  is  the  human  body.1 

Nature  furnishes  ready  motive  power  in  moving  air  and  water.  All 
other  forms  of  mechanical  motion,  not  excepting  muscular  power, 
require  the  application  of  heat,  and  this  is  obtained  through  combustion. 

The  mechanical  nomenclature  of  all  language  is  largely  derived  from 
the  bodies  of  animals.  Thus  in  English  we  have  the  head  of  a  ship, 
river,  lake,  jetty,  bolt,  etc.;  the  brow  of  an  incline;  the  crown  of  an 
arch;  the  toe  of  a  pier;  the  foot  of  a  wall;  the  forefoot,  heel,  ribs, 
waist,  knees,  skin,  nose,  and  dead  eyes  of  a  ship;  also  turtlebacks  and 
whalebacks;  the  jaws  of  a  vice;  the  claws  of  a  clutch;  the  teeth  of 
wheels;  necks,  shoulders,  eyes,  nozzles,  legs,  ears,  mouths,  lips,  cheeks, 
elbows,  feathers,  tongues,  throats,  and  arms;  caps,  bonnets,  collars, 
sleeves,  saddles,  gussets,  paddles,  fins,  wings,  crabs,  horns,  donkeys, 
monkeys,  and  dogs;  flywheels,  running  nooses,  crane  necks,  grasshop- 
per engines,  etc.- 

The  use  of  these  natural  forces  and  their  application  in  the  five 
great  classes  of  industry  above  named  gradually  led  invention  to  the 
discovering  or  devising  of  mechanical  powers,  to  sacrifice  time  in  order 
to  overcome  resistance  too  great  for  individual  effort,  to  secure  the  co- 
operation of  many  persons  or  animals  in  one  work,  and  to  make  effec 
tive  the  forces  just  mentioned  in  ways  innumerable.  The  mechanical 


<  T.  J.  II.  Cooper,  Iconographic  Encyclopedia,  vi,  p.  193,  and  the  author's  work 
mi  tlm  "Origins  of  Invention,"  London,  1894. 

Cf.  Jeremiah  Head,  Rep.  Brit.  Aasoc..  1893,  p.  *<52. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  241 

powers,  in  short,  make  possible  the  differentiation  of  employment  and 
the  organi/ed  cooperation  which  constitute  a  higher  grade  of  industry. 
The  mechanical  powers,  as  they  are  called,  seem  to  have  come  into 
vogue  in  the  following  order: 

(1)  The   weight,  for  hammers,   traps,   and   pressure;    later   on  for 
machinery . 

(2)  The  elastic  spring,  in  bows,  traps,  machines. 

(3)  Inclined  and  declined  plane,  in  locomotion  and  transportation. 

(4)  The  lever,  of  all  kinds. 

(5)  The  wedge,  in  riving  and  tightening. 
(II)  The  sled,  on  snow  or  prepared  tracks. 

(7)  The  roller,  for  loads  and  in  machine  bearings. 

(8)  The  wheel,  in  travel  and  carriage. 

(9)  Wheel  and  axle  in  many  forms. 

(10)  Pulleys,  with  or  without  sheaves. 

(11)  Twisting,  shrinking,  and  clamping  devices. 

(12)  The  screw. 

It  will  be  observed  that  for  working  with  the  forces  enumerated. 
\\itli  or  without  the  mechanical  powers,  tools  and  utensils  are  necessary 
in  order  to  break,  pierce,  divide,  unite,  contain,  move,  and  hold  fast 
materials,  and  to  make  it  possible  for  work  to  be  done.  In  another 
publication  the  author  will  discuss  the  aboriginal  American  mechanic 
and  his  industries,  so  it  is  not  necessary  here  to  enlarge  upon  this 
intricate  subject.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  not  only  every  tool,  but  device 
for  transportation  and  work,  includes  three  distinct  parts,  to  wit: 

(1)  The  working  part,  which  does  the  moving,  breaking,  battering, 
chipping,  abrading,  polishing,  cutting,  perforating,  and  so  on.  This 
portion  of  all  appliances  maintains  a  remarkably  conservative  plan  of 
functioning.  In  the  sled,  for  instance,  or  the  sailing  craft,  the  line  and 
curve  of  runners  or  the  strakes  have  undergone  little  change.  The 
material  and  manipulation  of  the  mechanical  powers  have  changed 
ama/ingly,  but  no  one  can  alter  the  modus  operand!  or  the  equation  of 
any  one  of  them. 

(2;  The  manual  part,  or  that  connected  with  the  human  body  or 
other  prime  mover  that  takes  its  place.  The  functioning  part  of  a 
machine,  to  repeat,  changes  little,  but  the  narrative  of  the  harness  of 
the  motor  or  motive  power  constitutes  the  history  of  machinery.  A 
very  old-fashioned  wagon  differs  from  the  latest  freight  train  chiefly  in 
the  intricate  engine  and  expensive  track.  The  difference  between  a 
kaiak,  with  ribs  of  driftwood  and  skin  of  seal  hide,  and  a  cruiser,  with 
ribs  and  skin  of  steel,  is  in  the  mode  of  pushing  them  through  the 
water. 

(3)  The  attachment  or  attaching  devices  of  tools  and  machines.     In 

the  woman's  knife  the  blade  is  wedged,  glued,  or  tied  into  the  handle. 

In  the  sled  the  dog  and  the  sled  are  maue  one   by  hooks,  toggles, 

frogs,   etc.     This  subject  of  binding,  uniting,  attaching,  detaching, 

H.  Mis.  90,  pt.  2 10 


242 


REPORT   OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 


can  not  be  overlooked  in  the  study  of  travel  and  transportation.  Its 
relation  to  progressive  culture,  to  geography,  and  climate  is  most  inter- 
esting. It  will  be  seen  in  the  progress  of  this  study  that  environment, 
grades  of  culture,  and  tribal  idiosyncrasies  may  be  excellently  differen- 
tiated thereby. 

Again,  with  each  art  goes  a  series  of  devices  which  may  be  classed 
under  the  general  name  of  receptacles,  their  only  functions  being  to 
contain  other  perishable  or  precious  or  fragile  things.  The  sewing 
woman  has  her  housewife,  the  artisan  his  tool  chest,  and  every  one  his 
pockets.  In  the  travel  and  transportation  arts  these  containers  go  by 

a  thousand  names.  The  general  term"  pack- 
age," however,  has  been  adopted  to  include 
them  all.  The  carrying  trade  has  intro- 
duced an  enormous  variety  of  devices  for 
packing  and  enriched  the  vocabulary  with 
such  words  as  barrel,  box,  pint,  quart, 
peck,  bushel,  cask,  bag.  sack,  crate,  hamper, 
hogshead,  and  tierce.  Furthermore,  the 
conveniences  of  packing,  as  well  as  strength 
for  transport,  has  reduced  many  of  these 
words  to  standards  of  measure  and  fixed  the 
metrics  of  carrying;  such  words  as  barrel, 
tub,  firkin,  and  load  have  definite  meanings 
of  contents  gauged  by  the  carrier  and  now 
by  law.  These  devices  are  sometimes  per- 
manent, but  ofteuer  thrown  away  at  the  end 
of  the  journey. 

Among  the  inventions  upon  which  ethnic 
and  geographic  traits  are  fastened  the  pack- 
ages should  be  carefully  studied.  It  is  these 
that  in  the  present  enormous  commerce  are 
counterfeited  for  the  purpose  of  gain  and 
fraud.  W.  K.  Carles  represents  a  Korean 
peasant  woman  not  only  bearing  a  burden 
on  the  head,  done  up  in  somewhat  local 
fashion,  but  she  lias  under  her  left  arm  a  number  of  eggs  wrapped  in 
straw  and  looking  not  unlike  strings  of  sausage1  (fig.  1). 

The  modifications  of  all  human  phenomena  that  are  the  product  of 
invention  are  far-reaching.  They  include  changes — 

(1)  In  the  things  invented  or  products  of  invention,  commonly  called 
inventions. 

(2)  In  all  the  materials,  processes,  and  apparatus  involved. 

(3)  In  the  mental  condition  and  powers  of  the  inventor. 

(4)  In  the  rewards  and  benefits  of  the  invention. 

(5)  In  society,  resulting  from  the  invention. 


Fig.l. 

KOREAN   WOMAN    TOTING    MEAT.    AM) 

CARRYING  K(i<is. 
From  it  Rgutf  in  farle-'-  •  I..C-  in  K,,,.  *. 


1  Se«  figure  on  p.  63,  "  Lif'o  in  Korcn."  New  York,  1H!M.  .Miicniillan  &.  Co. 


PRIMTTIVK    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  243 

These  changes  have  been  very  marked  under  the  influence  ol'  travel 
and  the  carrying;  trade.  A  palace  train  does  not  resemble  a  savage 
woman's  baby  frame  <;ieatl\ .  neither  is  a  huge  steamer  like  the  sack 
on  the  back  of  a  roustabout.  The  bustle  of  making  and  moving  the 
former  in  each  case  is  vastly  greater.  As  for  rewards,  the  savage 
woman  gets  nothing  beyond  a  little  casing  of  her  load,  and  the  rouster 
receives  a  few  cents  a  day.  The  intellectual  impulses  in  the  beginning 
or  copying  stage  and  the  ending  or  creative  stage  of  an  epoch  making 
invention  differ  in  speed  and  momentum.  And,  as  for  the  changes  in 
society,  nothing  has  contributed  more  to  that  end  than  beasts  of  burden 
and  traction,  ships  and  railroad  trains. 

Vet  the  old  transportation  survives  everywhere  and  obtrudes  itself 
into  the  new.  The  most  costly  steamer  is  compelled  by  law  to  carry 
for  each  passenger  a  little  life-preserver  as  rude  as  that  on  which  the 
Assyrian  soldier  floated  himself  across  a  stream,  and  trains  must  always 
have  on  board  folk  appliances. 

Among  the  negro  p  >pulation  of  Africa  and  in  other  savage  commu- 
nities carrying  is  a  fine  art.  Fletcher  and  Kidder  represent  a  woman 
bearing  at  the  same  time  freight  on  her  head  and  steadying  it  with 
the  right  hand,  while  she  sustains  her  child  on  the  lumbar  region, 
wrapped  in  her  shawl,  and  supported  by  the  left  hand. 

All  the  changes  of  exploiting  nature's  resources,  forces,  and  powers — 
of  the  art  of  inventing — have  followed  the  laws  of  progress  from — 

(1)  Naturism  to  greater  and  greater  artificiality. 

(2)  Simplicity  or  monorganism  to  complexity  or  polyorganism. 

(3)  Clumsiness  to  delicacy  and  economy. 

(4)  Discomfort  to  comfort. 

(">)  Solitary  work  to  cooperation. 

((5)  Individual  weal  to  common  weal. 

All  of  these  laws  apply  to  each  class  of  work  in  the  Patent  Office,  and 
it  will  be  seen  there  that  the  number  of  patents  concerned  with  the 
working  out  of  this  scheme  in  traveling  devices  is  very  great. 

From  this  point  of  view  the  climax  of  invention  in  any  line  of  activity, 
individual  or  social,  i*  the,  intentional  and  cooperative  application  of  all 
knowledge  to  the  production  of  new  tools,  machines,  words,  line  arts, 
social  structures,  and  philosophies.  This  purposeful  and  systematic 
devising  is  the  climax  of  the  process.  !>nt  in  the  beginning  it  was  not 
so.  Industries,  fine  arts,  languages,  social  structures,  and  beliefs 
almost  created  themselves,  but  each  had  in  its  processes  and  results 
the  germs  and  becomings  of  all  future  human  achievement*. 

The  relations  of  each  element  above  mentioned  in  each  class  of  notions 
to  the  earth  as  it  is  constituted  rather  than  to  the  earth  as  a  homoge- 
neous unit  can  not  be  neglected.  In  no  class  of  human  activities  is 
the  careful  study  of  geography  more  demanded.  This  is  so  true  that 
if  the  clothing,  shoes,  pack,  and  appliances  of  a  traveler  or  porter  be 
laid  before  a  student  of  this  subject,  lie  will  be  able  to  describe  with 


244  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1894. 

tolerable  accuracy  the  region  or  culture  area,  its  temperature,  weather, 
geographic  features,  and  productions.1 

Now  every  substance  and  thing  before  mentioned  scarcely  ever  exists 
at  h'rst  where  it  is  needed  or  is  used  up  where  it  is  first  taken.  The 
same  is  true  of  what  is  made  out  of  those,  and  what  is  made  out  of 
these  secondary,  tertiary,  and  further  products,  the  result  of  each  activ- 
ity being  the  groundwork  of  another.  None  of  them  is  wanted  where  it 
is  produced.  Hence  the  locomotive  activity  is  a  kind  of  middle  trade 
in  the  most  comprehensive  and  varied  sense,  a  go-between  and  a  carry- 
between  for  them  all  ad  infinitum. 

Hence  the  endless  running  to  and  fro  of  men  and  women,  covering 
in  a  single  day  fifty  times  the  distance  from  the  sun  and  back  again. 
The  miner,  the  quarry  man,  the  gem  collector:  the  gleaner,  the  lumber- 
man, and  the  farmer  of  every  type;  the  hunter,  the  fisherman,  and 
herdsman,  all  have  to  go  and  to  haul  all  sorts  of  things  to  their  work, 
before  they  deliver  the  goods  to  the  manufacturer.  After  endless 
goings,  carryings,  and  haulings  about  the  establishment,  the  trans- 
portation has  scarcely  begun.  The  products  must  go  away  by  land  or 
by  water,  either  to  some  other  manufacturer  to  be  further  modified,  or 
they  must  hie  away  to  the  centers  of  shipment;  and  thence,  after  having 
been  lifted  and  lugged  again  and  again,  these  products  in  new  packages 
are  ready  for  a  journey  to  the  seats  of  commerce;  first  of  wholesale, 
then  of  retail.  Now  begin  the  little  carryings  of  the  endless  procession 
of  shoppers  and  porters.  There  would  hardly  seem  to  be  anything  else 
to  do  but  to  go  and  fetch. 

The  carrying  industry  not  only  acts  as  middleman  between  all  other 
activities,  but  in  its  operations  it  absorbs  a  great  deal  of  the  life  of  the 
others.  The  mineral  kingdom  is  the  roadbed  of  water,  snow,  and  earth 
over  which  locomotion  passes.  'The  inventor  has  not  been  idle  in 
changing  them  for  the  historic  evolution  of  the  carrying  art.  The  vege- 
table kingdom,  in  its  forms  of  textile  and  timber,  have  always  been 
imltspensable  to  the  mechanism  of  transportation.  Animal  products 
appear  in  receptacles,  bone  ware,  rawhide  lines,  and  a  million  kinds  of 
leather  bags.  The  building  of  baby  cradles,  carrying  frames,  wagons, 
boats,  saddles,  cars,  not  to  mention  clothing  of  special  material  and 
pattern  for  this  industry,  occupy  thousands  of  men  and  women.  Now 
in  the  primitive  status  the  same  person  may  in  his  life  play  many  of 
these  parts,  or  all  the  parts  necessary.  But  these  activities  have  to  be 
performed  by  somebody  always.  !t  would  be  perfectly  safe  to  say  that 
every  trade  on  earth  did  some  specialized  work  for  the  traveler  and 
common  carrier. 

The  three  kingdoms  of  nature  have  been  man's  teachers.  The  very 
conduct  of  the  earth,  the  waters,  the  air  has  provoked  him  to  move- 
ment and  transporting.  The  powers  of  nature  keep  the  solid  earth  on 

'See  Hahn'n  Map  of  Plant  InduHtrieH,  Peterinann's  Bllttheilnngen,  ,J:m.,  1X9L': 
Proc.  liov.  (it-og.  8oc.,  xiv,  j).  182. 


1'imfTTlVF.    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  245 

the  move.  ;m<l  flu-  surface  material,  with  all  human  beings,  are  impelled 
along.  K\ery  tiling  that  floats  in  the  water  is  an  object  h«sson  in  loco 
motion.  The  winds  drive  theelouds,  which  go  away  never  to  return: 
it  scatters  the  leaves,  and  brings  the  snow  or  the  siiininer. 

The  living  kingdoms  are  more  instructive  and  suggestive.  The 
beaver,  the  bird,  the  lamprey  eel,  the  ant.  and  the  bee  are  all  indus- 
trious carriers.  Their  perseverance  and  strength  ama/e  the  modern 
engineer.  In  a  certain  sense  they  were  the  instructors  of  man  in  the 
aits  of  travel  and  transportation.  There  are  those  who  emphasize  these 
facts  to  the  great  disparagement  of  our  species.  But  after  all  it  is  the 
genius  of  invention  which  appropriates,  dominates,  and  utilizes  the 
whole  world.  It  is  true  that  they  can  be  taught  a  little  discretion  in 
such  matters.  Jeremiah  Head  tells  us  that  the  donkey  at  ('arisbrooke 


DONKEY   CAKUYlNCi    WATKB  JARS    IN   CKATK. 

IT.. in  ;.  |.i..it.*r.i|>li  in  th.-  I'.  -.  Nnti.in.il  Mum-urn.  l,v  ll.-v.  K.  K.   \    (  I.  v  .-l.m.l. 

ca-tle  draws  water  from  a  deep  well  by  a  treadmill  arrangement  just 
as  well  as  a  man  could  do  it.  He  watches  the  rope  on  the  barrel  till 
the  full  pail  rises  above  the  parapet  of  the  well,  then  slacks  back  a 
little  to  allow  it  to  be  rested  thereon,  and  only  then  leaves  the  drum 
and  retreats  to  the  stable.1 

Bearing  on  the  head  had  a  different  effect  on  the  ceramic  art  from  that 
of  burden  bearing  on  the  back  or  on  beasts  (tig.  2).  The  former  is 
illustrated  in  the  modern  pitcher,  with  handle  on  the  side,  with  the 
bulge  near  the  bottom  to  bring  the  center  of  gravity  as  low  down  as 
possible,  with  the  bottom  concave,  and  often  fitted  with  an  extra  rim, 
the  lineal  descendant  of  the  carrier's  head  pad.  There  are  features  of 
the  pitcher  which  have  been  occasioned  by  other  than  carrying  motives, 
but  the  forms  had  the  origin  here  described. 


'Rep.  Brit.  ASSM.-..  !*;»;{,  p.  861. 


24f)  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

All  handles  and  rims  have  their  original  motive  in  the  carrying 
activity,  and  these  elements  when  made  decorative  are  survivals  from 
the  utilitarian  epoch  of  the  thing.  Doubtless,  carrying  devices  in 
dugout  steins,  in  pottery,  and  in  hard  textiles  had  as  their  natural 
prototypes  objects  which  could  be  utilized  with  little  modification. 
But  it  is  also  true  that  the  genius  of  modification  is  the  most  marked 
human  characteristic.  The  gourd  with  the  receding  bottom  may  be 
the  prototype  of  the  jar  of  the  same  form.  It  is  also  doubtless  true 
that  Sandwich  Islanders  selected  the  seeds  of  those  gourds  that  had 
the  most  convenient  carrying  form,  and  these  seeds  were  planted 
as  a  matter  of  course.  After  the  same  motive  there  are  examples 
from  various  peoples  of  tying  strings  about  gourds  to  give  attach- 
ment to  the  carrying  strap.  This  form  is  imitated  in  pottery  and 
basketry  after  it  had  been  worked  out  in  gourd  culture. 

The  illustration  here  given  (pi.  1)  is  from  a  photograph  in  the 
U.  S.  National  Museum,  taken  by  Hillers,  of  the  Geological  Survey. 
The  woman  rests  the  water  jar  on  the  head,  without  the  pad,  and  the 
concave  bottom  shows  how  at  the  behest  of  the  woman's  comfort  the 
shape  of  the  vessel  has  been  modified.  The  dark  band  at  the  bottom 
is  the  boundary  line  of  what  would  be  the  bottom  ring  of  the  sling  if 
one  were  there. 

Upon  this  artistic  side  the  history  of  human  movements  over  the 
earth  and  of  the  journeys  which  its  productions  have  taken  at  the 
bidding  and  for  the  comfort  of  our  species  is  like  an  enchanted  dream. 
It  is  as  though  many  ages  back  a  naked  man  had  started  out  in  the 
world  and  was  now  returning  clothed  in  all  the  earth's  finest  fabrics, 
the  winds,  the  ocean  currents,  fire  and  lightning  rowing  his  boat  or 
drawing  his  chariot.  Through  what  experiences  this  one  man  must 
have  passed  to  be  in  himself  the  epitome  of  all  pedestrians,  riders, 
and  carriers  and  to  have  used  every  vehicle  and  sailing  craft  that  ever 
existed. 

Traffic  in  its  complexity  ami  changes  is  also  characterized  by  its 
noises.  Surely  the  quiet  peon  urging  his  way  along  his  lonely  path  is 
very  different  from  the  roar,  the  din,  the  rattle,  the  bells,  the  whistles 
one  hears  on  Cortlandt  street.  The  latter  is  a  kind  of  Wagnerian 
symphony  of  transportation,  in  whicli  discord  heightens  the  harmony. 

Primitive  commerce  and  all  the  carrying  and  running  involved  in 
primeval  arts  connected  with  food,  shelter,  clothing,  rest,  enjoyment, 
news  carrying,  and  war  were  accomplished  on  the  heads  or  foreheads, 
shoulders  or  backs,  or  in  the  hands  of  men  and  women ;  and  civilization, 
while-it  has  invented  many  ways  of  burden  bearing,  finds  also  an  end- 
less variety  of  uses  for  the  old  methods.  How  many  thousands  of  our 
fellow-creatures  are  still  in  this  condition  of  mere  beasts  of  burden! 
It  is,  for  instance,  only  a  few  years  since  the  invention  of  the  pas- 
senger and  freight  elevator  began  to  supplant  that  train  of  "hod  car- 
riers," who  have  been  since  the  beginning  of  architecture  bearing 


EXPLANATION     OF    PLATE     1. 

ZUNI  WOMAN  CARRYING  WATER. 

The  water  jar  among  the  Pueblo  Indians  performs  a  double  function;  namely, 
for  carrying  and  for  storage. 

Carrying  water  on  the  head,  and  not  on  a  beast  or  in  a  sling  or  canteen,  requires 
the  bottom  of  the  jar  to  be  either  round  and  accompanied  with  a  sustaining  pad 
for  the  head  and  for  the  ground,  or  to  be  concave  on  the  bottom,  as  in  this  plate. 
In  most  examples  of  Pueblo  pottery  the  decorations  are  pictorial  and  symbolical. 

Jars  with  concave  bottoms  are  extremely  rare  in  ancient  American  collections, 
but  carrying  with  the  headband  is  in  vogue  from  Smith  Sound  to  Patagonia.  It 
is  possible,  therefore,  that  the  method  here  figured  is  post-Columbian. 

The  woman  is  partly  dressed  for  the  occasion  in  blankets  of  her  own  handiwork 
in  dark  blue,  red,  and  white  wool,  and  adorned  with  a  silver  necklace  made  by  a 
native  jeweler.  Her  leggings  are  for  out-of-door  work.  The  sole  of  the  moccasin 
has  attached  to  it  for  the  "upper  "  an  entire  deerskin,  and  as  the  old  footing  wears 
out,  it  is  renewed  at  the  sacrifice  of  the  top,  which  constantly  decreases  in  size. 
The  upper  is  neatly  doubled  and  wrapped  about  the  limb.  The  carrying  of  water 
for  all  purposes  was  an  unremitting  task  with  the  ancient  cliff  and  mesa  dwellers. 


Report  of  National  Museurr.  1894  -  Mascn. 


PLATE  1. 


TV 


ZUNI  WOMAN  CARRYING  WATER. 
From  a  photograph  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum. 


I'KIMITIVK    TRAVKL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


247 


upward   to  its  completion   every  wooden  and   brick   structure  in  the 
world. 

To  get  something  like  an  adeqn  at  ('conception  of  the  enormous  amount 
of  lal»or  performed  l>y  human  backs,  calculate  the weight  of  every  earth- 
work, mound,  fort,  canal,  embankment,  wooden,  brick,  metal,  and  stone 
structure  and  fabrication  on  earth:  These,  have  all  been  carried  many 
times  and  elevated  by  hitman  muscle.  In  the  light  of  this  contempla- 
tion. Atlas,  son  of  Heaven  and  Karth,  supporting  on  his  shoulders  the 
pillars  of  the  sky.  is  the  apotheosis  of  the  human  son  of  toil,  and  the 
gaping  wonder  of  archa>ologists  over  the  hand-made  structures  of 
Thebes,  Palenqae,  Oarnac,  and  Salisbury  Plain  subsides  to  the  level  of 
a  mathematical  problem.  Indeed,  the  great  majority  of  earthworks 
mounds,  menhirs,  cairns,  cromlechs,  dolmens,  and  megalithic  structures 
now  to  be  seen  witnessed  the  exertions  of  no  other  artisan  than  the 
human  carrier  and  mover.1 

The  traffic  by  land  and  by  sea  has  grown  tenfold  since  1850.  The 
carrying  trade  is  at  present  one  of  the  chief  occupations  of  men,  as 
may  be  seen  by  the  numbers  employed  on  railways  and  in  seagoing 
shipping. 


Railways. 

Shipping.           Total. 

Europe                                     

1,540,000 

550,  000         2,  090,  000 

United  States 

874,000 

60,000             634  000 

480  000 

95  000             f>75  000 

Total  

2,  8SI4,  000 

705,  000         3,  599,  000 

The  gross  receipts  of  the  carrying  trade  in  which  the  above  men  are 
employed  amount  to  about  j£<>~)0,000,<H}0  sterling  per  aunum.- 
The  incentives  to  going  about  and  transportation  are: 

(1)  The  necessity  of  food  and  comfort,  the  daily  round. 

(2)  The  procurement  of  tools  and  materials  necessary  to  the  getting 
and  preparing  of  the  food  ami  comforts  of  life,  herding  and  droving. 

(.3)  Fear  and  desire  for  quiet,  individual  and  social. 

(4)  Love  of  conquest,  the  movements  of  hordes. 

(5)  Desire  to  see  and  know  what  is  beyond,  exploration  and   intelli- 
gence. 

(it)  (lold  and  other  rare  treasures,  prospecting. 
(7)  Religious  pilgrimage. 
(8), Involuntary  movements. 


For  illustrations  of  women  ;is  beasts  of  burden,  see  the  author's  work,  "  Woman's 
Share  in  Primitive  Culture,"  Now  York,  ls!il.  rhaptrr  vi:  Srhoolcraft,  History, 
etc.,  of  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  United  Stales,  \  i.  plate  opposite  p.  560;  Wood. 
"Uncivilized  Races,"  I,  p.  330  et  seq.;  Lncien  Carr,  '•Mounds  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley,"  and  Isaac  Mi-Co\.  "Coal  Carriers  in  tin-  West  Indies,"  for  rali-nlation  of 
the  time  required  to  build  an  earth  mound. 
-  Mnlliall.  (  ontemp.  Kev.,  18!M,  p.  ML'O. 


248  REPORT    OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

Between  the  gratification  centers  are  often  long,  cheerless  spaces  to 
be  crossed  and  to  increase  the  journey. 

In  the  satisfaction  of  these  cravings  the  whole  earth  was  occupied 
long  ago  by  unlettered  peoples.  They  walked  most  of  the  way;  they 
swam  and  paddled  in  shallow  waters;  they  followed  the  fishes,  the 
birds,  the  mammals,  the  streams,  the  winds,  the  voices  innumerable 
within  them.  No  modern  Crusoe  has  failed  to  see  in  the  shore-sands 
the  footprints  of  those  fearless  pedestrians  and  guideless  sailors  who 
in  the  darkness  of  human  ignorance  felt  their  way  to  nearly  every 
corner  of  the  world. 

The  great  forests  never  supported  large  aboriginal  populations. 
There  is  a  continuous  tract  north  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  in  Quebec;  and 
Ontario,  extending  to  Hudson  Bay  and  Labrador,  1,700  miles  in  length 
from  east  to  west  and  1,000  miles  from  north  to  south.  Another  tract 
lies  in  Washington  State  and  British  Columbia.  A  third  occupies  the 
valley  of  the  Amazon,  embracing  mucli  of  northern  Brazil,  eastern 
Peru,  Bolivia,  Ecuador,  Colombia,  and  Guiana — a  region  2,100  miles 
long  by  1,300  wide.  In  Africa,  in  the  valley  of  the  Kongo,  including 
the  head  waters  of  the  Nile  to  the  northeast  and  those  of  the  Zambesi 
on  the  south,  is  a  forest  region  not  less  than  3,000  miles  from  north  to 
south  and  of  vast  width  from  east  to  west.  In  Siberia,  from  the  plains 
of  Obi  to  the  valley  of  the  Indigirka,  embracing  the  valleys  of  the 
Yenisei,  Olenek,  Lena,  and  Yana,  is  a  timber  belt  more  than  1,000  miles 
from  north  to  south  and  a  length  of  3,000  miles  from  east  to  west.  In 
Yenisei,  Lena,  and  Olenek  are  thousands  of  square  miles  where  no 
human  being  has  ever  lived.1  The  same  is  true  of  arid  regions.  To 
keep  the  tribes  of  men  in  fraternal  or  inimical  contact  and  to  enable 
the  progressive  races  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  the  whole  earth  these  unin- 
habitable regions  had  to  be  traversed.  First  they  discouraged,  then 
they  demanded  locomotion. 

Bandelier  says  :  "  In  every- age  gold  has  presented  one  of  the  strong- 
est means  of  enticing  men  from  their  homes  to  remote  lands,  and 
of  promoting  trade  between  distant  regions  and  the  settlement  of 
previously  uninhabited  districts."2 

It  has  been  previously  intimated  that  one  of  the  results  of  all  inven 
tions  is  the  profound  modification  of  society.  In  a  special  sense, 
society  has  had  to  adapt  itself  to  the  travel  and  traffic  art.  No  two 
areas  of  the  earth  are  alike  in  resources.  Quite  the  contrary,  all  hab- 
itable places  super-abound  in  some  requisite  of  human  existence,  some 
raw  material,  or  spring,  or  good  lauding  place,  or  sunny  exposure,  or 
source  of  power,  or  pasture  land.  The  extreme  variety  of  physiographic 
characteristics  set  agoing  the  activities  we  call  traffic.  Note  that  each 

"From  the  Youth's  Companion. 

*  "The  Gilded  Man,"  New  York,  1893,  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  mentions  on  page  1,  the 
Argonauts,  Hercules  seeking  the  golden  apples  of  the  Hesperides,  the  settlement  of 
the  Phii-uicians  in  Spain,  and  the  journeys  to  Ophir. 


PRIMITIVE    TKAVKL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 

• 

little  group  or  family  has  had  its  daily  round  of  cares  and  then  lain 
down  to  rest;  the  feet  were  tired  a>  well  as  the  hands.  A  day's  jour- 
ney for  all  this  group  combined  is  tlie  family  round  of  activity. 

Note,  again,  that  this  little  group  in  the  course  of  a  year  has  a  suc- 
cession of  seasons,  and  then  the  circle  returns  into  itself.  There  is  the 
hunting  month,  the  fishing  month,  the  planting  month,  the  hoeing 
month,  the  berry  month,  and  so  on,  till  the  year  is  exhausted.  The 
amount  of  going,  no  matter  where,  of  the  whole  group  is  the  circle  of 
annual  activity. 

In  the  third  place,  it  is  almost  impossible  for  one  of  these  little  groups 
in  its  daily  round  and  annual  circle  to  be  so  shut  oft'  from  the  rest  of 
mankind  as  not  to  come,  in  contact  with  other  groups  beyond  their  ter 
ritory,  and  they  carry  on  war  or  trade  with  them,  mutually  invading 
and  being  invaded.  The  total  of  all  contacts  let  us  call  the  sphere  of 
intluence  or  of  contact. 

Again,  there  is  an  outside  world,  of  which  our  group  has  heard,  and 
in  former  years  their  ancestors  moved  in  a  part  of  it.  Some  of  their 
own  men  have  been  there  and  relate  marvelous  stories  on  their  return. 
The  memory  of  the  outside  world  is  treasured  up  in  story  or  myth  or 
song,  or  acted  in  the  tribal  drama.  They  will  tell  in  the  southland  of 
the  place  where  there  is  neither  sun  nor  trees  and  the  people  make  their 
boats  of  sea- monsters'  skins.  Or  perhaps  there  may  be  in  western 
America  the  tale  of  a  country  where  the  trees  are  hollow. 

At  any  rate,  ethnologists  do  not  know  of  a  time  when  there  was  not 
a  deal  of  moving  about  over  the  earth  and  going  away  from  home  and 
returning,  or  of  getting  into  a  great  highway  or  gulf  stream  of  travel. 
These  journeyings  became  world  encompassing  at  the  close  of  the 
fifteenth  century  of  our  era.  These  movings  may  be  called  the  streams 
of  human  commerce  and  acquaintance. 

Finally,  there  is  a  heritage  of  experience  and  wisdom,  a  commerce 
of  inventive  thought,  moving  over  the  globe  ever  like  the  currents  of 
the  atmosphere.  Temperatures,  rainfalls,  winds,  hygienic  conditions, 
depend  upon  the  air  currents.  Hut  here  it  is  meant  that  there  are 
tin »nght  movements  into  which  and  out  of  which  our  group  may  get 
themselves  to  modify  or  to  crystalli/e  their  activities,  their  modes  of 
travel  and  commerce  especially.  The  social  life  of  a  people  in  its 
goings  therefore  includes — 

(1)  Their  daily  round  of  actions  from  bed  to  bed. 

(2)  Their  annual  circle  of  activities  from  year  to  year. 

(3)  The  sphere  of  influence  or  outside  relations. 

(4)  The  streams  of  commerce,  their  contact  with  them. 

(f))  The  currents  of  intellectual  force,  more  or  less  continuous  in 
time  and  place. 

Mr.  Ravenstein  gives  from  Russian  sources  an  interesting  account 
of  the  manner  in  which  the  Orochons  (Tungus  stock)  on  the  upper 
Amur  spend  their  hunting  year.  In  March  they  go  on  suowshoes  over 


250  REPORT    OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  18H4. 

snow,  into  which,  at  that  season,  cloven-footed  animals  sink,  and  shoot 
elks,  roe,  and  umsk  deer,  wild  deer  and  goats;  the  tent  being  fixed  in 
valleys  and  defiles  where  the  snow  lies  deepest.  In  April  the  ice  on 
the  rivers  begin  to  move,  and  the  huntsman,  now  turned  fisherman, 
hastens  to  the  small  rivulets  to  net  his  fish.  Those  not  required  for 
immediate  use  are  dried  against  the  next  month,  which  is  one  of  the 
least  plentiful  in  the  year.  In  May  they  shoot  deer  and  other  game, 
which  they  have  decoyed  to  certain  spots  by  burning  down  the  high 
grass  in  the  valleys  so  that  the  young  sprouts  may  attract  the  deer  and 
goats.  June  supplies  the  hunter  with  antlers  of  the  roe.  These  they 
sell  at  a  high  price  to  the  Chinese  for  medicinal  purposes.  The  Chinese 
merchants  come  north  in  this  month,  bringing  tea,  tobacco,  salt,  pow- 
der, lead,  grain,  butter,  etc.,  so  that  a  successful  huntsman  is  then  able 
to  provide  himself  with  necessaries  for  half  the  year.  In  July  the 
natives  spend  a  large  part  of  the  month  catching  fish,  taken  with  nets 
or  speared  with  harpoons.  They  are  able  also  to  ppear  the  elk,  which 
likes  a  water  plant  growing  in  the  lakes.  It  comes  down  at  night, 
wades  into  the  water,  and,  while  engaged  tearing  at  the  plant  with  its 
teeth,  is  killed  by  the  huntsman.  In  August  they  catch  birds,  speared 
at  night  in  the  retired  creeks  and  bays  of  the  river  and  lakes.  Their 
flesh,  except  that  of  the  swan,  is  eaten,  and  the  down  is  exchanged  for  ear 
and  finger  rings,  bracelets,  beads,  and  the  like.  Thus  they  spend  the 
summer  months,  afterwards  retiring  again  to  the  mountains  for  game. 
In  the  beginning  of  September  they  prepare  for  winter  pursuits.  The 
leaves  are  falling,  and  it  is  the  season  when  the  roebuck  and  the  doe  are 
courting.  The  natives  avail  themselves  of  this,  and  by  cleverly  imitat- 
ing the  call  of  the  doe  on  a  wooden  horn  entice  the  buck  near  enough 
to  shoot  him.  Generally  speaking,  this  is  the  plentiful  season  of  the 
year  so  far  as  flesh  is  concerned;  but,  should  the  hunters  not  be  fortu- 
nate, they  live  upon  service  berries  and  bilberries,  which  they  mix  with 
reindeer  milk.  They  also  eat  the  nuts  of  the  Mauchu  cedar  and  of 
the  dwarf-like  Cembra  pine.  The  latter  part  of  September  and  the 
beginning  of  October  are  again  employed  in  fishing,  for  the  fish  then 
ascend  the  river  to  spawn.  About  the  middle  of  October  begins  the 
hunting  of  fur-bearing  animals,  the  most  profitable  of  all  game,  and 
this  goes  on  till  the  end  of  the  year.1  . 

Speaking  of  the  town  of  Leh  in  Kashmir  as  a  center  and  exhibition 
ground  of  travel  and  traffic,  Mrs.  Bishop  says  that  great  caravans  en 
route  for  Khotan,  Yarkand,  and  Chinese  Tibet  arrived  daily  from  Kash- 
mir, Pan  jab,  and  Afghanistan  and  stacked  their  goods  in  the  place; 
the  Lhasa  traders  opened  shops  for  sale  of  brick  tea  and  implements 
of  worship;  merchants  from  Annitsar,  Cabul,  Bokhara,  and  Yarkand 
opened  bales  of  costly  goods;  mules,  asses,  horses,  and  yaks  kicked  and 
squealed  and  bellowed.  There  were  mendicant  monks,  Indian  fakirs, 
Moslem  dervishes,  Mecca  pilgrims,  itinerant  musicians,  and  Buddhist 


1  Lansdell,  "Through  Siberia,"  Bostou,  1882,  pp.  509-510. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  251 

ballad  howlers.  Women  with  creels  on  their  backs  brought  in  Income. 
Ladakhis,  Ilaltis.  and  Lahulis  tended  the  beasts.  Lhasa  traders 
exchanged  te;i  for  Nuhra  and  Ilaltistau  dried  apricots,  Kashmir 
sall'ron,  and  rieh  stuH's  tVom  India.  Yarkand  nierehants  on  Ing  horses 
of  Turkestan  oiler  hemp  for  smoking  in  exchange  for  L'ussian  stuff.1 

Speaking  of  globe  trotting,  Vainbery  says:  "We  must  mention  tlie 
slender  thread  of  (Correspondence  maintained  by  single  pilgrims  or  beg- 
gars from  the  most  hidden  parts  of  Turkestan  witli  the  remotest  parts 
of  Asia.  Nothing  is  more  interesting  than  these  vagabonds,  who  leave 
their  native  nests  without  a  farthing  in  their  pockets  to  journey  for 
thousands  of  miles  in  countries  of  which  they  previously  hardly  know 
the  names,  and  among  natives  entirely  different  from  their  own  in 
physiognomy,  laws,  and  customs."2 

For  each  one  of  these  movements  there  is  a  center  about  which  the 
activity  revolves.  At  first  it  is  a  purely  natural  or  supply  center. 
Such  a  state  of  life  could  not  long  exist,  so  artificial  centers  take  the 
place,  of  natural  ones.  A  spring  of  water  and  not  the  hunting  or  fish- 
ing ground  attracts  the  group.  In  higher  life  the  civic  center  is  the 
climax  of  this  process. 

In  the  industrial  world,  as  a  whole,  there  are  centers  of  supply  or 
natural  material  regions  and  areas.  These  come  to  be,  as  every  one 
knows,  social  centers  of  manufacture,  of  exchange,  and  even  of  consum- 
ing and  enjoying.  Transportation  centers,  distributing  centers,  cross- 
road centers  of  social  structure  and  activity  have  always  existed  also. 
Now  these  civic  centers  grow  more  and  more  to  be  a  reality,  until  the 
modern  city  has  six  /ones,  not  circular  in  their  outline  but  having  social 
and  economical  boundaries,  namely: 

(1)  The  central  nucleus  or   governing  place  and  regulative  body. 
The  city  hall,  the  citadel,  the  capitol,  conveys  the  idea. 

(2)  The  busy  mart,  where  going  is  the  duty.     In  point  of  fact  every- 
thing is  in  motion  there. 

(3)  The  homes  of  the  industrious,  the  thrifty,  the  well   to   do — in 
short,  the  residence  /one.     There  is  more  travel  there  and  going  to  and 
fro  about  it  than  one  might  first  suspect. 

(4)  The  slums,  the  aftermath  of  savagery,  where  a  portion  of  society 
-m-^  to  seed,  to  mill. 

(5)  The  garden  /one,  where  the  waste  of  the  city  and   proximity  to 
market  makes  it  possible  to  get  the  best   soil  effects  with  least  effort 
and  greatest  profits. 

(6)  The  farmer  zone,  in  fact  a  zone  of  thrift,  and  outside  of  that  a  zone 
of  unthrift,  from  which  all  natural  supply,  fertility,  and  resources  are 
gradually  exhausted  and  carried  txj  the  industrial  center  to  be  used  up. 
and  little  or  nothing  comes  back  to  it.     It  is  as  though  the  soil  had 
moved  into  town  and  left  away  out  on  the  confines  a  broad  ring  of  no 

1  "Among  the  Tibetans."  Chicago,  1894,  p.  60. 

Travel  iu  Central  Asia."  New  York,  I8»w,  p.  45!». 


252  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  ISfll. 

man's  laud.  This  is  what  every  eye  gazes  on  at  each  moment  of  the 
day.  All  moving  feet  and  beasts,  trains,  and  boats  are  engaged  in 
constructing  one  of  these  civic  rings.  The  small  centers  are  only 
like  our  little  group;  the  large  centers,  like  London  or  New  York,  are 
world-embracing.  They  rule  the  world,  their  trade  is  with  all  mankind, 
their  good  people  are  cosmopolitan,  their  vices  are  those,  of  the  whole 
race  from  the  birth  of  time;  hundreds  of  smaller  civic,  centers  minister 

9 

to  them  and  are  enriched  by  them,  and  the  four  corners  of  the  earth 
concentrate  their  productions  there. 

The  map  of  the  world  has  undergone  wonderful  changes  in  this  regard 
in  historic  times  in  the  location  of  these  centers  of  commercial  circula- 
tion, and  the  kind  of  roads  that  radiate  therefrom,  as  well  as  in  the 
character  of  the  forces  and  vehicles  involved.  It  would  be  an  absorb- 
ing study  for  one  to  trace  these  centers,  and  to  note  the  changes  in 
roads  and  vehicles,  but  the  subject  of  this  paper  relates  entirely  to  the 
primitive  centers  and  routes  before  there  was  a  wheel  conveyance  on 
eai  th. 

Burden  bearing,  in  addition  to  this  general  participation  in  the 
creation  of  artificial  industrial  centers  and  great  civic  groups,  has  cre- 
ated special  phases  of  society.  Legislation  has  had  no  small  trouble 
in  regulating  the  laws  of  travel  and  trade,  of  interstate  and  interna- 
tional commerce.  Citizens  who  go  abroad  and  who  traffic  have  been 
the  occasion  of  no  end  of  diplomatic  correspondence  and  even  of  war. 
Those  engaged  in  travel  and  transportation  have  themselves  always 
had  their  rules,  societies,  corporations,  organized  service,  and  trades 
unions.  Savage  no  less  than  civilized  men  travel  and  trade  by  route 
and  by  rule. 

The  carrying  activity  and  trade  are  most  intimately  associated  with 
slavery.  It  is  not  time  yet  to  say  that  it  was  thus  allied  more  than 
with  other  arts,  nor  that  it  was  most  confined  thereto.  Looking  at  the 
movements  of  men  and  women,  the  porters,  roustabouts,  coal  stokers, 
and  carriers  are  even  now  the  most  abject  and  hardest  worked  of  serv- 
ants. The  women  and  captives  in  America  did  the  carrying  as  the 
peons  do  now.  In  Africa  the  backs  of  slaves  are  the  vehicles  of  travel- 
ers and  of  merchandise.  The  southern  and  southeastern  Asiatic  is 
himself  a  beast  of  burden,  and  so  has  it  always  been. 

The  complete  study  of  this  topic  is  full1  of  interest  to  the  ethnologist 
as  well  as  to  the  technologist.  It  has  had  its  ethnic  elaboration  as 
well  as  its  industrial  evolution.  No  less  does  each  tribe  and  people  of 
the  earth  have  its  bodily  structure,  manufactures,  art,  speech,  and 
social  life  than  it  has  its  own  artificial  conveyances  and  ways  of  get- 
ting about  and  carrying.  To  speak  after  the  manner  of  the  naturalist, 
the  species  of  such  inventions  are  tribal,  national,  and  racial. 

One  can  hardly  fail  to  discover  in  a  .study  of  this  sort  how  much  its 
phases  enter  into  the  aesthetic  arts  and  pleasures  of  mankind.  Going 
for  the  sake  of  going,  sailing  in  unknown  wateis,  visiting  new  lauds 


PRIMITIVK    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


253 


and  ga/ing  on  new  skies  are  now  and  always  have  been  ruling  motives 
in  the  wills  of  men.  The  landscape  gardener  constructs  his  varied 
effects  about  meandering  roads  and  paths;  the  most  stirring  and  costly 
music  is  martial;  moving  scenes  of  men  and  beasts  and  stately  ships 
cover  the  painter's  canvas  and  sculptor's  slab;  we  ransack  the  earth 
fora  new  perfume  or  delicious  fruit.  I 'inally,  mythology  and  the  stories 
of  all  mysterious  beings  begin  and  end  with  recounting  their  works  and 
travels.  The  sky  is  full  of  paths  and  trails.  Charon's  boat  bears  the 
souls  of  men  abroad.  The  obsequies  of  the  dead  are  a  preparation  for 
journeying  barefooted.  Atlas  uplifts  the  world  ever  on  his  broad  neck 
and  back.  The  Caryatides  arc 
the  apotheosis  of  all  patient 
women  porters. 

An  American  example  of 
Atlas  type  is  the  stone  chair 
of  Ciuayaquil  (fig.  .'$).  A  man 
on  all  fours  supports  a  curved 
scat  on  his  back.  The  whole 
is  cut  from  a  single  block  of 
stone.1 

In  Polynesian  phrase:  "As 
I  hope  to  escape  perdition, 
Whakatauroa  is  the  basket 
wherein  rests  the  pillar  of  the 
earth.  Its  strap  is  Kangiwha 
kaokoa."  '  This  saying  is  ap- 
plied to  the  world.  Its  mean 
ing  is:  If  the  basket  had  not 
been  placed  as  a  support  for  the  pillar,  the  earth  would  have  moved  to 
and  fro  over  the  surface  of  the  waters,  and  would  have  sunk  therein: 
there  would  have  been  no  resting  place  for  the  being  called  man,  or 
anything  else,  or  for  anything  which  lives.  When  the  overwhelming 
earthquake  comes,  the  pillar  is  there  in  the  basket:  however  great 
the  quaking,  the  pillar  is  firm.  By  means  of  the  head  strap  the 
ba.-ket  is  able  in  carry  the  pillar:  were  it  not  for  that,  the  end 
would  not  be  attained.  There  are,  however,  other  uses  of  the  strap 
as  well.2 

The  activities  here  t  reated  embrace  all  that  may  be  included  in  the 
word  ••locomotion."  or  essentially  all  traveling,  carrying,  or  being 
carried.  The  words  traveler,  freight,  and  passenger  make  the  group 
of  industries  sufficiently  plain.  All  human  inventions  begin  with 
natural  objects  little  modified,  so  the  locomotive  activities  have  their 
rise  in  merely  going  or  carrying  and  being  carried  without  inter- 


Fig.  3. 

CHAIR  OK  SANDSTONE  FROM  GUAYAQUIL,  1'KKC. 

Yr *  fifiirf  .n  Wicncr'l  '  '  ftrou  rl  Bolmr." 


1  Wien«T.  "  IVron  H  Holivir."  I'uris.  pji.  .V_'J 
•  H.-in-   linn};!.    "  Control    lirtwren    Fiif    ami    \\:it«-i.' 
N<>.  ::,  j>.  156. 


.loiirn.    I'olvnoiiin 


254  REPORT    OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

mediate  apparatus.  Furthermore,  while  the  aboriginal  mineralogist, 
botanist,  and  zoologist  wander  about  at  random  and  do  not  care  ever 
to  repeat  the  trail,  this  desultory  and  trackless  wandering  soon  gives 
place  to  efforts  to  go  over  the  same  journey  even  upon  the  water.  The 
uses  of  hands  and  head  and  shoulders,  and  especially  the  feet,  for 
journeying  and  transporting,  and  all  the  inventions  for  making  these 
convenient  and  cooperative,  together  with  the  fixing  and  preparing  of 
ways  to  facilitate  them,  united  constitute  the  industry  of  travel  and 
transportation. 

This  subject  naturally  divides  itself  into  land  travel  and  water  travel. 
But  these  two  cam  not  always  be  separated.  In  the  present  paper, 
however,  attention  will  be  given  to  the  former,  which  may  be  thus 
classified  : 

(1)  Going  afoot,  including  the  study  of  special  costumes  and  appli- 
ances occasioned  thereby. 

(2)  Man  as  a  carrier  and  in  drawing  loads.     This  chapter  will  treat  of 
the  two  aspects  of  carrying,  namely,  riding  and  freighting,  and  will 

consider  the  begin- 
nings of  harness,  as 
applied  to  the  hu- 
man body. 

(3)  The  domesti- 
cation of  animals  for 
riding  beasts,  pack 
Fis  4  ing  beasts,  and  for 


MEN  RIDING,  LEADING.  AND  DRAGGING. 

From  a  figure  in  \Vh.viiiper'n  "Grent  Andes  of  the  KrjuiHo 


„.. 

(4)  The  origin  of 

the  road,  of  trails,  routes,  conveniences  on  the  road,  foot  bridges  and 
the  beginnings  of  engineering. 

(.">)  Subsidiary  activities,  signals,  food,  time  keeping,  receptacles, 
trade,  stimulants,  slavery. 

This  study  will  be  chiefly  from  an  objective  point  of  vie\v,  and  will 
be  largely  based  on  the  collections  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  and 
such  other  material  as  may  be  helpful  thereto. 

Whymper  gives  a  little  figure  which  in  a  small  space  comprehends 
all  that  is  included  in  this  paper  (fig.  4).  In  the  rear,  as  he  should  be, 
is  a  man  painfully  bearing  and  dragging  a  number  of  poles  —  burden  and 
draft  beast  in  one.  His  load  is  a  sled  without  snow,  a  cart  without 
wheels,  a  travois  in  which  the  man  is  the  dog.  Ahead  of  him  a  man 
is  walking  and  leading  a  pack  mule.  This  is  a  step  higher  in  culture, 
in  the  epoch  of  domestication  and  breeding.  In  the  man's  hand  is  a 
whip,  which  bears  the  same  relation  to  the  firebrand  that  industrialism 
does  to  militancy.  In  front  a  man,  possibly  Mr.  Whymper,  rides  on  a 
mule,  representing  the  highest  grade  in  culture  of  the  era  of  biological 
force,  of  the,  hand  and  beast.1 


1  \V}ivmp«r,    ''(Jreat  An<l<v<  of  the   Kijiiator,"    New    York,   1892,    Surilmer'.H   Sons, 
p.  19. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  255 

TRAVELING    ON    FOOT. 

In  tin1  exercise  of  the  function  of  traveler,  men  use  their  inventive 
powers  to  render  their  traveling  structures  more  effective  in  going 
faster,  in  going  farther,  in  going  to  places  inaccessible  to  them  ina  state 
of  nature,  in  going  in  groups,  ami  with  greater  case  and  comfort,  and 
in  going  for  longer  periods.  One  of  the  elements  of  progressive  eul- 
tnre  is  the  multiplication  of  the  necessities  of  travel. 

P.ush  says  of  the  (liliaks.  ••  \\ 'e  could  not  make  them  understand 
that  all  our  supplies  would  l>e  required  for  the  journey,  as  they  carry 
little  while  traveling." ' 

The  first  consideration  in  this  study  of  man  as  a  traveler  and  a  burden 
bearer  is  his  body  as  an  instrument  or  apparatus  to  this  end.  Struc- 
turally this  investigation  includes — 

(1)  The  skeleton,  its  versatility  and  strength. 

(2)  The  muscular  system. 

(.'i)  The  vital  parts  in  reference  to  these. 

Functionally  the  .student  would  have  to  regard  the  activities  <>f — 

(1)  Walking,  running,  swimming,  diving,  etc. 

(!')  Lifting  and  carrying. 

(3)  Pulling  and  hauling. 

(4)  Pushing  and  forcing. 

In  the  case  of  migratory  birds  and  nshes,  the  habit  is  explained  by 
saying  that  they  have  endowments  of  locomotion  that  n't  and  impel 
them  to  be  going.  In  harmony  with  this  instinct  of  going,  this  irresist- 
ible attraction,  are  the  exigencies  of  desire  and  supply.  The  environ- 
ment without  and  the  nature  within  conspire. 

It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  in  the  conduct  of  men,  the  actual 
possession  of  the  whole  earth,  their  capabilities,  attributes,  wants,  inher- 
ited proclivities  are  coupled  with  structure  specially  adapted  to  the 
conduct.  When  the  cosmopolitan  structure  of  man  is  considered,  the 
domination  of  the  earth  is  the  legitimate  functioning  of  his  wonderful 
organism.1 

Professor  Munro  has  said  that,  as  the  quadrupedal  animals  became 
more  highly  differentiated,  it  followed  that  the  limbs  became  also  modi- 
tied,  so  as  to  make  them  suitable  not  only  for  locomotion  in  various 
circumstances,  but  also  useful  to  the  animal  economy  in  other  ways,  as 
swimming,  living,  climbing,  grasping,  etc.  Hut  no  animal,  with  the 
exception  of  man,  has  ever  succeeded  in  divesting  the  fore  limbs  alto 
get  her  of  their  primary  function/  What  a  profound  fact  is  this  in  the 
industry  here  considered,  both  in  getting  about  and  carrying  at  the 
same  time.  The  erect  position  provides  the  diversified  requisites  for  tin- 
versatile  walker  and  burden  bearer  in  one  person.  Indeed,  it  maybe 
said  that  theerect  position  \\  a-  effected  by  and  through  the  carrying  art. 


1  "Ueindeer,  I»og8,  and  Siiowshoes."  N<-\v  Wrk.  is? I.  \>.  IL'.".. 

-  ft".  Maker,  "The  Ascent  of  Man.''  Anieriran  Anthropologist,  Oct.,  1890. 

3  Cf.  Rep.  Brit.  Assoc.,  Nottingham.  1SW.  j».  886. 


256 


REPORT   OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


(1)  In  the  very  act  of  progressing  and  .supporting  a  load  the  erect 
position  achieves  the  maximum  of  result  with  the  minimum  of  effort. 

(2)  The  fore  limbs  are  set  free  from  walking,  climbing,  flying,  swim- 
ming, and  all  sorts  of  leg  work,  so  that  they  may  have  all  their  time  to 
lift  and  carry,  to  push  and  pull,  to  move  themselves  and  objects  in 
directions  innumerable. 

(3)  The  freeing  of  the  fore  limbs  has  thus  been  accompanied  by  such 
structural  modification  of  them  that  they  may  hold  on,  balance,  grasp, 
a  handle  or  rope,  put  a  burden  on  the  head,  or  shoulder  (fig.  5)  or  back, 
hold  it  in  place,  act  singly  and  independently  at  diametrically  opposite 
functions,  or  cooperate  in  a  diversity  of  actions  to  produce  and  vary 
motion  or  overcome  resistance. 

(4)  The  erect  position  and  the  modifications  of  structure  .involved 
make  it  possible  for  so  feeble  a  creature  us  man  to  bear  great  loads  on 
the  head,  shoulders,  back  of  the  neck,  hips,  knees,  breast,  and  arms, 

and  to  vary  their 
position  while  him- 
self in  motion.  Upon 
this  point  Professor 
Munro  says  that 
everybody  knows 
how  much  labor  can 
be  saved  by  atten- 
tion to  the  mere 
mechanical  princi- 
ples involved  in  their 
execution .  In  carry- 
ing a  heavy  load  the 
great  object  is  to  adjust  it  so  that  its  center  of  gravity  may  come  as 
nearly  as  possible  to  the  vertical  axis  of  the  body,  as  otherwise  force  is 
wasted  in  keeping  the  mass  in  equilibrium.  The  continued  maintenance 
of  this  unique  position  necessitated  the  turning  of  an  ordinary  quad- 
ruped a  quarter  of  a  circle  in  the  vertical  plane  to  render  the  spine 
perpendicular  or  in  line  with  the  posterior  limbs.  The  osseous  walls 
of  the  pelvis  were  modified  to  take  the  additional  strain.  Special  groups 
of  muscles  gave  stability  to  the  trunk  and  conferred  upon  the  body  its 
freedom  and  grace. 

The  lower  limbs  were  placed  wide  apart  at  the  pelvis;  thigh  and  leg 
bones  were  lengthened  and  strengthened;  the  spinal  column  took  on 
special  curves;  the  skull  was  moved  backward  until  it  became  nearly 
equipoised  on  the  top  of  the  vertebral  column.  The  upper  limbs  became 
flail-like  appendages,  the  shoulder  blades  receded  to  the  posterior  aspect 
of  the  trunk,  having  their  axes  at  right  angles  to  that  of  the  spine. 
Further,  like  the  haunch  bones,  they  underwent  certain  modifications  to 
afford  pointsof  attachment  to  the  muscles  required  in  the  complex  move- 
ments of  the  arms.  The  elbow  joint  became  capable  of  movements  of 


Fip.  5. 

JAPANESE  MAN  SHODLDERINIi   A   PACKAGE   OF  RICK. 

roin  :,  picture  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  257 

complete  extension,  flexion,  pronation,  supination,  in  which  respects  the 
upper  limits  of  man  are  differentiated  from  those  of  all  other  vertebrates.1 

In  his  sinew-backed  bow,  made  of  driftwood  and  sinew  cord,  the 
Eskimo  ingeniously  converts  a  breaking  strain  of  the  fragile  wood  into 
a  columnar  strain  thereon,  wherein  it  is  strongest  ami  a  tensile  strain 
upon  the  sinew  wherein  it  also  is  strongest.  The  erect  position  and 
the  possibility  of  resting  a  load  on  vertical  bones  in  a  great  variety  of 
positions  enables  the  carrier  to  get  the  greatest  lifting  result  with  the 
least  danger  to  the  body.  So  far  this  change  to  the  erect  position,  with 
all  that  it  implies,  is  just  as  serviceable  to  the  exploitive,  manufac- 
turing, and  consuming  activities  as  with  those  that  are  here  studied. 
,  There  is  no  end  of  encomium  upon  the  human  hand,  and  it  does  a 
great  deal  in  lifting  and  carrying,  but  the  especial  organ  of  the  travel 
and  transportation  industry  is  the  foot.2 

Upon  this  useful  organ  Dr.  Munro  may  again  be  allowed  to  speak. 
It  is  in  the  distal  extremity  of  the  limbs  that  the  most  remarkable 
anatomical  changes  have  to  be  noted.  The  foot  is  virtually  a  tripod, 
the  heel  and  the  ball  of  the  great  toe  being  the  terminal  ends  of  an 
arch,  while  the  four  outer  digital  columns  group  themselves  together  to 
form  Uie  third  or  steadying  point.  The  three  osseous  prominences  that 
form  this  tripod  are  each  covered  with  a  soft  elastic  pad,  facilitating 
progression  and  acting  as  a  buffer.  Progression  is  performed  by  an 
enormously  developed  group  of  muscles,  known  as  the  calf  of  the  leg. 
The  walker  is  thereby  enabled  to  use  the  heel  and  the  ball  of  the  great 
toe  as  successive  fulcrums  from  which  the  forward  spring  is  made,  the 
action  being  greatly  facilitated  by  that  of  the  trunk  muscles  in  simul- 
taneously bending  the  body  forward.  The  foot  is  thus  a  pillar  for  sup- 
porting the  weight  of  the  body  and  a  lever  for  mechanically  impelling 
it  forward.  Man  possesses,  moreover,  the  power  to  perform  a  variety  of 
(|iiick  movements  and  to  assume  endless  attitudes  and  positions.  He 
can  readily  balance  his  body  on  one  or  both  legs,  can  turn  on  his  heels 
as  if  they  were  pivots,  and  can  prostrate  himself  comfortably  in  a  prone 
or  a  supine  position.  As  the  center  of  gravity  of  the  whole  body  is 
nearly  in  line  with  the  spinal  axis,  stable  equilibrium  is  easily  main- 
tained by  the  lumbar  muscles.  This  combination  of  structures  and 
functions  places  man  in  a  category  by  himself,  and  yet  preserves  the 
homologies  common  to  all  the  vertebrates.3 

The  enormous  multiplication  of  motions  and  methods  of  resistance, 
combining  in  one  human  body  every  variety  of  work  ever  done  by 
animals,  finds  a  correspondence  in  the  increased  size  and  complexity  of 

Cf.  R.  Mitnru,  Rep.  Brit.  Assoc.,  1893,  ]>.  887,  for  an  elaborate  treatment  of  this 
subject. 

'•C*'  J    Cross,  "On  tbe  Mechanics  and  Motions  of  the  Human  Foot  and  Leg.''  Glas- 
gow, 181'J,  and  J.  0.  Plumer,  "The  M«-<  -haim-nl  Affections  of  the  Human  Foot,"  Port- 
land, looO. 
3Cf.  K.  Munro,  Rep.  Brit.  Assoc.,  1H93.  pp. 

H.  Mis.  DO,  pt.ii 17 


258  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

brain  and  nervous  tissue — the  multiplication  of  nerve  cells.  It  is  vain 
to  speculate  upon  the  priority  of  development  in  the  brain  or  in  the 
body  as  a  versatile  instrument  of  locomotion  and  work.  Wherever  the 
remains  of  man  have  been  found  the  characteristics  of  locomotion,  of 
the  erect  position  necessary  to  human  work,  are  stamped  thereon.  Man, 
then,  the  carrying  animal,  the  beast  of  burden  par  excellence,  the  mas- 
ter of  all  other  burden  bearers  in  the  world,  is  the  groundwork  and 
support  of  the  entire  carrying  industry. 

Jeremiah  Head,  in  speaking  of  the  mechanical  principles  of  invention 
actually  existing  in  the  body  of  man  and  referring  to  some  involving 
the  carrying  art,  says  that  the  human  foot  contains  instances  of  the 
first  and  second  and  the  fore  arm  of  the  third  order  of  lever.  The 
patella  is  part  of  a  pulley;  there  are  hinges  and  ball-and-socket  joints 
with  lubricating  arrangements ;  lungs  are  bellows,  and  the  heart  is  a 
combination  of  force  pumps;  the  wrist,  ankle,  and  spinal  vertebra  form 
universal  joints;  the  nerves  form  a  complete  telegraph  system  with  up- 
and-down  lines  and  a  central  exchange;  the  circulation  of  blood  is  a 
double  line  of  canals,  in  which  the  liquid  and  the  boats  move  together, 
making  the  circuit  twice  a  minute,  distributing  supplies  wherever 
required,  and  taking  up  return  loads  without  stopping;  it  is  also  a  heat- 
distributing  apparatus,  establishing  a  general  average,  as  engineers 
endeavor  to  do  in  building.1 

Physiologists,  in  speaking  of  the  functioning  of  the  brain,  sometimes 
overlook  these  wonderful  facilities  for  blood  supply  and  removal.  Com- 
pared with  the  smooth  brain  of  the  lower  vertebrates,  the  brain  of  man 
is  as  New  York  City  of  to-day  with  Manhattan  Island  of  the  sixteenth 
century. 

With  accessories  to  his  body,  without  aid  of  beast  or  physical  power, 
man  far  outstrips  all  animal  rivals.  A  skater  at  Haarlem,  in  Holland, 
went  3.1  miles  at  the  rate  of  -1  miles  per  hour.  One  mile  has  been 
cycled  in  1  minute,  54  seconds,  and  900  miles  have  been  made  at  12.43 
miles  per  hour,  while  Count  Starhemberg's  ride  on  horseback  averaged 
only  5.45  miles  per  hour,  and  the  horse  died  from  the  effort.  The 
modern  railroad  is  virtually  a  surrender  of  man's  legs  to  his  brains  and 
the  harnessing  of  physical  force.2 

Under  exceptional  circumstances  man  has  accomplished  in  walking 
matches  over  8  miles  in  one  hour,  and  an  average  of  2f  miles  per  hour 
for  one  hundred  and  forty-one  hours.  In  running  he  has  covered  about 
11£  miles  in  an  hour.  In  water  he  lias  proved  himself  capable  of 
swimming  100  yards  at  the  rate  of  3  miles  per- hour,  and  22  miles  at 
rather  over  1  mile  per  hour,  and  he  has  remained  under  water  4J  min- 
utes. He  can  easily  climb  the  most  rugged  mountain  path  and  descend 
the  same.  He  can  swarm  up  a  bare  pole  or  a  rope,  atid  when  trained 


'Cf.  Kep.  Brit.  As.sor.,  ix'in,  p   Sti '. 

2 Ibid.,  p.  864.     Locomotion  in  both  air  and  water  are  also  Hperially  considered. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  259 

can  i>erfonn  most  wonderful  feats  of  strength  and  agility.  He  has 
shown  himself  able  to  jump  as  high  as  6  feet  2J  inches  from  the  ground, 
and  over  a  horizontal  distance  of  23  feet  3  inches;  and  he  has  thrown 
a  cricket  ball  3S'JA  fe<  t. 

Tin-  attitude  and  action  of  a  man  in  throwing  a  stone  or  acricketball, 
where  be  exerts  a  considerable  force  at  several  feet  from  the  ground, 
to  which  the  reaction  has  to  be  transmitted  and  to  which  he  is  in  no 
way  tautened,  are  unequaled  in  any  artificial  machine.  The  similar 
but  contrary  action  of  pulling  a  rope  horizontally,  as  in  tug  of-war 
competitions,  is  equally  remarkable.  The  living  mechanism,  although 
fitted  for  an  external  atmospheric  pressure  of  about  l/>  pounds  per 
square  inch,  has  been  able  to  ascend  to  a  height  of  7  miles  and  breathe 
air  at  a  pressure  of  34  pounds  per  square  inch.  Divers  have  been  down 
in  the  water  80  feet  deep,  entailing  an  extra  pressure  of  3<>  pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Fasting  operations  are  not  less  remarkable  when  we  are  comparing 
the  human  body  as  a  piece  of  mechanism  with  those  of  artificial  con 
st ruction.     For  what  artificial  motor  could  continue  its  functions  forty 
days  and  nights  without  fuel;  or,  if  the  material  of  which  it  was  con 
structed  were,  gradually  consumed  to  maintain  the  flow  of  energy,  could 
afterwards  build  itself  up  again  to  its  original  substance? 

The  marvel  is  not  that  the  human  bodily  mechanism  is  capable  of  any 
one  kind  of  action,  but  that  in  its  various  developments  it  can  do  all 
or  any  of  them,  and  also  carry  a  mind  endowed  with  far  wider  powers 
than  those  of  any  other  animal. 

No  animal  burrows  into  the  earth  a  greater  depth  than  8  feet,  and 
then  only  in  dry  ground.  By  aid  of  the  steam  engine  for  pumping, 
for  air  compressing,  ventilating,  hauling,  rock  boring,  electric  lighting, 
etc.,  and  by  the  utilization  of  explosives  man  has  obtained  complete 
mastery  over  the  crust  of  the  earth  and  its  mineral  contents  down  to 
the  depths  where,  owing  to  the  increase  of  temperature,  the  conditions 
of  existence  become  dilncult  to  maintain.' 

As  will  appear,  the  physical  man  as  a  traveler  and  carrier  takes  on 
special  ethnic  peculiarities  in  this  re-ard.  The  races  of  men  do  not 
walk  alike,  have  not  the  same  endurance  in  going,  do  not  use  the  same 
part  of  the  body  in  carrying  and  in  locomotion  artificially  effected. 

Now  many  of  these  differences  are  m»t  racial,  but  physiographic. 
The  burdens  to  be  carried  and  the  resistances  to  be  overcome  are  dif- 
ferent. There  are  varieties  of  elevation,  climate,  expc^m,..  salubrity 
which  modify  the  body.  The  apparatuses  of  riding  and  of  burden 
bearing  also  have  to  conform  to  the  nature  of  things.  So  we  not  only 
have  types  of  burden  bearers,  hut  types  of  burden  hearing  and  of 
burden  utensils.  The  American  aborigines  were  chief  of  the  races  in 
this  regard  They  had  no  ridin.u  beast  and  were  compelled  to  walk. 


'C'f.  Harley,  "On  the  Recuperative  I'.mlily  Power  »f  Man,"  .louru.  Anthrop.  Inst  , 
Londou,  1887,  xvn,  pp.  108-118. 


260  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

Their  helpful  animals  were  the  dog  in  the  north  and  llama  in  the 
Andes;  otherwise  men  and  women  had  to  work  in  traces  and  under 
great  loads.  The  network  of  inland  streams  in  both  Americas  devel- 
oped also  the  boatman  class. 

The  Africans  of  negro  type,  south  of  the  Sahara,  were  also  their  own 
beasts  of  burden.  Wherever  the  burden  camel  or  ass  appears  it  is  a 
Hamitic  introduction.  In  the  chapter  on  burden  bearing  the  special 
types  of  carrying  will  be  shown.  Carrying  on  the  head,  or  toting,  with 
the  anatomical  peculiarities  that  this  implies,  is  common  with  the  nappy 
haired  tribes.  The  exigencies  of  food  getting,  of  slave  capture,  of  long 
reaches  of  uninhabitable  country,  of  war  made  of  the  African  a  great 
walker  and  wanderer.  This  is  manifest  in  the  condition  of  the  language 
problem. 

The  Polynesian  is  a  boatman,  a  swimmer,  and  makes,  few  foot  jour- 
neys of  any  length.  His  carrying  muscles  are  not  developed  and  his 
rounded  form  is  not  suggestive  of  Atlas  or  Hercules.  His  paddling 
muscles  are  splendidly  emphasized,  and  his  agility  with  his  hands  is 
surprising.  He  has  been  the  greatest  of  modern  aboriginal  travelers, 
the  short  distances  that  he  could  make  afoot  acting  as  an  efficient 
impulse  to  the  invention  of  seaworthy  craft. 

His  cousin,  the  Malay,  lives  on  larger  islands,  and,  having  no 
domestic  animal,  must  necessarily  be  a  more  wiry  pedestrain,  a  better 
carrier  and  pack  animal.  Indeed,  there  are  two  kinds  of  him,  land 
Dyak  and  sea  Dyak,  physically  different  as  any  one  would  suppose.  The 
land  Dyak  is  a  walker,  and  is  on  his  feet  constantly.  Books  of  travel 
invariably  represent  him  barefooted,  with  a  long  staff'  or  spear  and 
bearing  on  his  back  a  load  supported  by  a  head  band. 

The  Sinitic  group  are  in  the  South  great  watermen,  have  only  a  lit- 
tle to  do  with  cattle,  much  for  elephants  to  do,  and  hence  are  not 
addicted  to  carrying  as  the  Chinese  are.  But  the  Celestials  and  the 
Japanese  have  marvelous  backs.  Later  on  the  Chinese  carrying  trade 
and  methods  shall  be  reviewed,  but  here  let  it  suffice  to  say  that  the" 
physical  endowments  of  the  Chinese  coolie  are  not  surpassed.  China 
is  in  the  hand  and  back  epoch  of  culture.  Pack  beasts  are  common 
enough,  but  they  do  not  enter  into  competition  with  the  legitimate 
burden  bearers. 

The  Hamito-Semitic  stock  have  taken  to  riding  and  to  pack  beasts  and 
are  not  specially  modified  in  body  for  beasts  of  burden.  Layard  long 
ago  said  that  the  Arab  has  no  wheelbarrow  muscle,  and  he  might  have 
added  that  his  muscles  for  a  long  walk  are  likewise  defective.  India 
is  somewhat  like  farther  India.  The  aboriginal  peoples  are  largely 
water  folk. 

The  long  Piedmont  of  northern  Asia  is  the  home  and  special  train- 
ing ground  of  most  of  the  beasts  of  burden — dog,  reindeer,  camel, 
horse,  ass.  ox.  I'pon  these  the  people  lay  their  loads  or  exact  the 
duty  of  dragging  their  vehicles.  Walkers  are  not  rare,  but  profes- 


PRIMITIVE   TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


261 


sional  carriers  are  so.  It  is  not,  therefore,  to  be  expected  that  the 
bodies  of  the  people  should  have  been  specially  changed.  In  this 
region,  however,  the  process  of  domestication  is  in  its  infancy,  and 
under  such  circumstances  always  man  lias  more  than  half  of  the 
walking  and  working  to  do. 

Within  the  areas  called  civili/ed,  where  local  movements  give  place 
to  world  movements,  all  ancient  forms  of  going  and  carrying  survive 
and  the  active  pursuit  of  them  becomes  professional.  Roustabouts 
and  porters  are  there  a  class.  Their  backs,  limbs,  and  whole  anatomy 
are  greatly  modified  by  their  trade. 

\  ambery  mentions  in  his  company  from  Teheran  one  Hadji  Kurban, 
a  peasant  by  birth,  who  as  a  knife  grinder  had  traversed  the  whole  of 
Asia,  had  been  as  far  as  Constantinople  and  Mecca,  had  visited  on 
occasions  Tibet  and  Calcutta,  and  twice  the  Khirghi/  Steppes  to  Oren- 
burg and  Tagaarog. ' 


FiK.e. 

PERUVIAN   ANKLE    UANDH   KOR  TKAVK1.KKS 

Kr,,u,  a  lnurr  in  \\Vm-r'.,  "  IVrc.u  'I  Boli»if." 

Bodily  deformations  result  from  the  carrying  art.  Commencing  with 
the  cradle,  the  back  of  the  heads  of  American  Indian  infants  are 
said  to  be  compressed  by  contact  with  the  hard  papoose  frame  in  which 
they  are  carried.  "Flattened  or  platycnemic  tibias  have  often  been 
mentioned  as  a  pithecoid  rexcrsioii  and  also  as  a  racial  trait.  They  are 
neither.  Virehow  has  abundantly  shown  that  they  are  produced  in 
any  race  by  the  prolonged  use  of  certain  muscles,  cither  in  constant 
trotting,  in  prolonged  squatting,  in  carrying  burdens,  or  in  the  use  of 
peculiar  toot  gear.  The  proof  that  it  is  acquired  is  that  it  is  never 
found  in  the  tibias  of  young  children." " 

The  custom  of  belting  the  body  and  bandaging  the  legs  (fig.  <J)  found 
so  common  in  tropical  America  ma\  have  had  its  origin  in  the  exigen- 
cies of  traveler  going  about.  Among  the  ignorant  laborers  in  America, 


••Tnivrls  in  (Vrinil  &•!•,"  Nrw  York,  18tif>,  p.  ll'. 

Hrinton,  Am.  Aiiihropulo>ii«t.  YVusliinfftnn.  I*1'!.  \>    ::*!.  quoting  L)r.  Matthews, 
M.  in.  Nat.  Arad.  Sri.,  vi,  p.  224. 


262  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

especially  among  the  negroes  in  the  South,  the  opinion  prevails  that  a 
strip  of  eel  skin  about  the  leg  has  a  beneficial  effect  in  preventing 
rheumatism,  cramp,  sprains,  and  the  like.  That  this  belief  has  a  wide 
dispersion  may  be  supposed  from  the  frequency  of  bands  about  the 
ankles  noted  among  primitive  peoples.  The  ancient  Peruvians  Wore 
about  the  ankle  bands  of  metal,  cord,  or  textile. 

With  relation  to  the  elements  in  which  man  travels  the  species  may 
be  said  to  be  terrestrial,  aquatic,  and  semiaerial.  Because  he  not  only 
progresses  on  the  ground,  but  moves  freely  in  and  under  the  water 
naturally  and  by  his  inventions,  he  also  climbs  into  the  air  naturally 
on  trees,  and  by  his  machinery  ascends  above  the  flight  of  any  bird. 

SPECIAL   COSTUME  FOR  TRAVEL. 

The  special  costume  for  going  away  from  home  became  more  and 
more  differentiated  with  the  extent  of  a  journey  of  a  day,  with  the 
annual  circle  of  activities,  with  the  sphere  of  trade  and  influence,  and 
with  the  knowledge  of  those  ever-widening  currents  of  acquaintance 
and  intercourse  which  quickened  the  pace  and  lengthened  the  excur- 
sions of  travel.  All  these  were  extremely  limited  at  first,  as  they  are 
now  limited  among  rustic  and  other  folk,  and  consequently  the  travel- 
ing clothing  little  differed  from  that  worn  at  home.  The  outfit  of  the 
primitive  traveler,  though  not  to  be  compared  with  that  of  his  modern 
representative,  was  devised  to  meet  his  wants.  It  would  include:  (1) 
Special  costume  for  the  body;  (2)  special  protection  for  the  head; 
(3)  protection  for  the  eyes;  (4)  footgear;  (5)  snowshoes;  (0)  creepers 
for  walking  on  ice;  (7)  stilts  and  other  elevating  devices;  (8)  staff  and 
scrip;  (9)  climbing  devices.  In  this  connection  should  be  considered 
runners  and  couriers  of  various  kinds. 

Costumes  of  most  useful  patterns  were  invented  for  those  who  go  away 
from  home.  It  has  often  been  asserted  that  men  and  women  adorned 
their  bodies  before  they  clothed  them.  As  regards  clothing  for  the 
sake  of  clothing  this  may  be  true.  But  those  who  had  to  go  away  far 
from  the  accustomed  shelter  must  need  to  take  temporary  shelter  with 
them,  and  that  is  clothing.  This  useful  apparatus  must  not  be  con- 
founded with  that  artistic  and  ceremonial  toggery  which  in  association 
with  tattooing,  cosmetics,  and  artificial  deformation  constitutes  the  cos- 
tume of  staying  at  home  and  is  never  seen  on  the  road.  Traveling  cos- 
tume was  devised  and  perfected  as  culture  widened.  In  the  tropics, 
prior  to  the  art  of  plaiting  blankets  or  mats  and  weaving  cloth,  nature's 
textile,  or  bark  cloth,  was  in  vogue.  The  Africans  used  a  very  crude 
variety  of  this  fabric,  and  in  tropical  America  similar  cloth  is  employed 
both  for  travelers'  clothing  and  for  the  attachment  of  ornaments.  The 
Polynesians  were  most  expert  in  beating  from  the  inner  bark  of  certain 
trees  a  tough  fabric  which  was  protective  and  easily  removed. 

In  addition  to  the  bark  cloth,  in  all  three  tropical  areas,  specially 
good  mat  makers  may  be  found. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  263 

The  aborigines  of  the  three  areas  also  rained  the  notion  of  the  per- 
sonal journeying  roof  to  tin-  extent  of  inventing  rain  cloaks  and 
umbrellas,  which  are  no  more  than  thatches  to  cover  one  man.  The 
I  .  S.  National  Museum  possesses  examples  from  .Japan  and  middle  or 
Latin  America.' 

The  temperate  /one  man  found  himself  the  possessor  of  a  fe\v  textiles 
and  used  them  economically  in  clothing,  hemp,  tlax,  cedar  hark,  cotton, 
andjnte.  But  his  land  abounded  in  ruminants,  whose  dressed  hides 
and  whose  hair  enabled  him  to  house,  his  body  for  any  journey.  In 
America  the  tawed  hides  of  buffalo,  moose,  caribou,  deer,  elk,  and  the 
pelts  of  buffalo,  bear,  and  a  great  variety  of  carnivores  and  rodents 
were  more  than  sufficient  for  the  exigencies.* 

The  going  away  from  home  was  by  both  men  and  women,  and  there- 
fore the  temperate  region  aborgines  of  North  America  were  the  best 
clad  savages  in  the  world.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  hunter  tribes, 
while  the  agricultural  eastern  tribes  are  represented  by  the  old  artists 
as  <|uite  devoid  of  clothing.  The  fragile  and  movable  tents  of  the  Plains 
Indians  were  supplemented  by  better  garments  more  constantly  worn. 

The  buckskin,  fur,  and  woven  fur  clothing  in  America  reaches  from 
Mexico  to  the  Eskimo  border.  In  the  corresponding  area  of  Europe  in 
earliest  historic  times  similar  dress  was  worn  by  the  primitive  Aryan 
tribes.  It  may  be  that  the  Piedmont  hordes  of  northern  Asia  were  once 
so  arrayed,  but  since  the  earliest  records  garments  of  wool  woven  and 
felted  have  been  in  vogue.  Quite  frequently  the  pelts  of  lambs  and 
other  domestic  animals  constitute  a  survival  from  an  earlier  period. 

The  elevated  regions  of  South  Amei  ica  demand  of  thetravelerartiticial 
clothing  and  furnish  him  one  of  the  best  substances  in  the  hair  and  the 
skins  of  the  Auchenias.  The  spindle  is  a  common  object  in  all  Peruvian 
collections,  and  all  mummies  are  comfortably  clad  for  their  long  journey/1 

The  Africans  are  good  spinners  and  weavers  of  cotton  and  of  palm 
liber.  For  this  operation  they  use,  looms  only  a  few  inches  wide  and 
sew  together  several  widths  of  cloth,  which  they  wrap  around  their 
bodies  not  only  as  a  protection  from  the  elements,  but  in  its  folds  they 
carry  both  children  and  merchandise. 

The  coolies,  in  south  China,  usually  have  on  nothing  but  a  pair  of 
loose  trousers,  tucked  up  above  the  knees.  They  have  jackets,  but  rarely 
wear  them  while  on  the  road.  They  have  the  body  above  the  loins 
naked  while  at  work  just  as  men  here,  go  in  their  shirt  sleeves.  A 
straw  hat  and  a  pair  of  trouser*  or  simple  loin  doth  is  all  the  clothing 
most  of  them  wear  throughout  the  year.  In  the  winter  they  put  on 
thick  jackets.  This  is  on  the  testimony  of  Dr.  If.  N.  Grave^.  for  many 
years  a  missionary  in  China. 


'Illustrated  in  the  "Capitals  of  South  America."  h\  \V.  K.  Curtis. 
'•Masou,  "Aboriginal  Skin  Dressing."     K«>p.  Smithsonian   lust.   (U,  S.  N.-it.  Mn«O. 
1889  (1891),  p.  553. 

3  Wiener,  "  PeYon  et  Bolivie." 


264  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1*94. 

The  traveling  Chinaman  and  Japanese  thatch  the  head  and  the  body 
against  the  rain  with  broad  hats  and  abundant  rain  cloaks,  as  will  be 
specially  shown  further  on. 

These  two  countries  furnish  the  best  examples  of  highest  achieve- 
ment in  the  industrial  epoch  of  the  hand.  More  men  are  professionally 
carrying  burdens,  the  distances  between  artificial  culture  centers  are 
longer,  the  tonnage  carried  on  backs  of  human  beings  is  vaster,  and 
the  outfit  of  the  carrier  is  more  differentiated. 

The  hyperborean  man  and  woman  go  almost  as  naked  in  their  hut  or 
underground  house  as  their  congeners  farther  south.  It  is  when  they 
venture  forth  that  they  exhibit  the  highest  invention  in  dress.  It  is 
possible  though  risky,  for  tropical  or  temperate  region  man  to  defy  the 
elements,  but  the  hyperborean  man  can  not  for  one  moment.  So  he 
constructs  an  air-tight  nonconducting  house  of  skin,  whether  of  rein- 
deer, bear,  hair  seal,  bird,  or  marten.  Herein  he  is  as  safe  as  in  his 
home. 

Omitting  the  inquiry  how  so  many  stocks  of  mankind,  from  North 
Cape  to  east  Greenland  came  to  be  dressed  substantially  alike,  it  is 
true  that  they  are  dressed  so  harmoniously  to  the  environment  that  the 
white  man  when  he  goes  to  live  among  them  simply  has  to  don  their 
garb  with  few  modifications.1 

The  body  clothing  of  the  Kamchatkan  traveler  includes:  (1)  The 
kuklander,  long  tunic  of  deerskin,  double,  reaching  to  the  knees,  with 
hood;  (2)  torbossas,  long  fur  boots  with  fur  socks  inside;  (3)  malachis, 
fur  bonnet  or  nightcap  worn  inside  the  hood;  (4)  archaniles,  long 
tippets  held  in  the  teeth  to  protect  the  face.  These  with  mittens  and 
deerskin  trousers  complete  the  costume.2 

Bush,  at  Ghijigha,  speaks  of  his  sleeping  dress  as  follows:  "My 
robe  de  nuit  consisted  of  an  immense  fur  kuklander  of  double  thick- 
ness and  extending  to  my  ankles;  a  heavy  spacious  hood  covered  the 
head  and  was  bordered  with  a  thick  fringe  of  wolf  hair  to  keep  the 
drifting  snow  out  of  my  face  while  sleeping;  fur  sleeping  socks,  one  of 
which  was  as  large  as  a  small-sized  barrel.  All  else  needed  to  com 
plete  my  comfort  was  to  throw  my  bearskin  on  the  soft  snow  for  a 
mattress."3 

Among  barbarous  and  semicivilized  peoples  travelers  note  some 
special  form  or  attribute  of  dress,  perhaps  inexplicable  at  first  but 
easily  explained  when  the  environment  is  known.  The  Yuma  Indians 
put  mud  on  tlieir  bodies  at  night  or  in  the  morning  to  keep  out  the 
chill,  but  as  the  sun  advances  it  wears  off  and  leaves  the  body  naked. 
The  Latin  Americans  and  all  other  Latin  peoples  don  the  poncho, 
which  may  be  now  a  shawl,  now  a  rain  protector,  or  it  may  be  doubled 

'On  the  making  of  the  Eskimo  garment,  see  Murdoch,  Ninth  Ann.  Rep.  Bureau  of 
Ethnology. 

"Bush,  "Reindeer,  Dogs,  and  SuowshoeH,"  New  York,  1871,  ]>.  61. 
'Ibid  ,  p.  361. 


PKIMITIVK    T1JAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  265 

up  and  carried  against  an  emergency.  The  Semito  Hamitic  girdle  or 
sash,  that  may  on  occasion  become  a  shawl,  belongs  to  this  general  util- 
ity garment.  The  light  shawl  on  the  arm  of  the  opera  goer  or  evening 
visitor  is  a  survival  of  this  very  old  precautionary  garment. 

HEAD  GEAR. 

The  second  class  of  special  costume  demanded  for  the  traveler  chiefly 
was  protection  for  the  head.  Not  only  is  the  head  especially  exposed 
and  vulnerable,  but  it  occupies  an  important  place  in  the  traveler's 
outfit.  It  is  his  watch  tower  from  which  he  looks  out  on  the  track,  his 
telegraph  and  telephone  office  into  whose  receiver  the  voices  of  nature 
whisper,  his  transmitter  of  messages  to  his  fellows,  his  detective  to  advise 
and  warn.  The  sun,  the  storm,  the  cold  strike  the  head  first  and  most, 
so  aside  from  any  idea  of  ornament  dame  nature  has  given  to  the  negroid 
and  other  tropical  peoples  and  to  Arctic  peoples  an  abundance  of  hair. 
The  skin  of  the  head  lias  a  remarkably  adaptive  power,  suiting  itself 
to  enormous  differences  of  temperature.  But  for  cosmopolitan  man 
these  did  not  suffice,  and  before  he  had  any  notion  of  adorning  his  head 
he  covered  it  to  protect  it. 

Each  culture  region  has  its  type  of  hat,  each  isothermal  belt  covers 
the  head  of  the  traveler  conveniently.  Elevation,  temperature,  rain- 
fall, wind,  natural  materials  all  tell  upon  the  head  cover.  There  are 
also  among  travelers  race  hats,  national  hats,  and  guild  hats.  There 
are  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  a  large  collection  of  hats  from  all 
parts  of  the  world  which  enables  the  student  to  make  some  interesting 
comparisons  in  this  regard. 

Among  the  types  of  men  the  Australioid  travel  little  and  protect 
their  heads  less,  either  to  keep  them  warm,  to  shade  them,  to  shed  the 
rain,  or  to  defend  the  eyes.  There-  is  not  an  Australian  hat  in  the 
U.  S.  National  Museum. 

In  tropical  Africa,  both  among  the  negroes  and  the  Bantu,  the  head 
receives  much  adornment  and  no  protection.  The  Africans  are  good 
braiders,  however,  and  make  excellent  hats  for  others  to  wear.  In 
America  and  other  lands  whither  the  African  was  borne  as  a  slave,  he 
disdains  the  hat  and  maybe  seen  working  bareheaded  in  the  fields. 
Hut  in  Latin  America,  as  is  well  known,  the  negro  and  the  Indian  united 
their  blood  and  their  arts  to  such  an  extent  that  some  of  the  excellent 
hat  making  of  that  region  must  be  accredited  to  the  influence  of  the 
former. 

The  American  aborigines  of  the  tropics  are:  divided  into  highlanders 
and  lowlanders.  The  latter  wear  no  hats;  at  least  in  pictures  they 
appear  unclothed  as  to  the  head,  and  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  has 
no  specimen.  In  the  upland  or  montagnais  of  the  tropics  the  Indian 
carriers  appear  constantly  with  skullcaps  woven  from  paco  wool.  The 
natives  that  have  become  Latinized  wear  the  sombrero,  both  of  vegetable 
fiber  and  of  wool. 


266  REPORT    OP    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

The  Polynesians  or,  more  properly  speaking,  the  ludo-Pacific  races, 
Malay,  Negroid,  and  Polynesians,  go  bareheaded.  They  are  a  mari- 
time people  largely,  and  ignore  the  hat  as  a  protection  in  their  canoe 
travel. 

In  the  temperate  regions  there  has  been  most  land  travel  always  and 
more  demand  for  head  covering,  and  yet  there  is  great  difference  of 
opinion  evidently  as  to  what  kind  of  hat  to  wear.  The  heaviest  hats 
and  turbans  regardless  of  heat  belong  to  the  traveling  races — the 
camel,  mule,  and  horse  riding  stocks  in  America,  in  north  Africa,  and 
in  western  Asia  as  far  east  as  the  Mohammedan  religions  and  mongo- 
loid  peoples  extend. 

The  tnrban  is  also  at  home  in  India,  and  it  is  a  perpetual  wonder  how 
in  a  land  .of  so  much  heat  the  human  head  can  stand  such  bundling. 
It  is  a  fact  that  this  head  gear  belongs  to  an  alien  and  conquering  race, 
that  it  now  stands  for  caste  and  there  is  no  telling  what  mankind  are 
willing  to  suffer  for  pride  and  vanity.  The  native  peoples  of  India  are 
pictured  as  bareheaded.  The  climate  renders  the  headdress  unneces- 
sary, and  the  noucaste  people  are  not  given  to  moving  about. 

As  soon  as  one  approaches  the  Sinitic  area  and  the  land  of  rattan 
and  bamboo  the  turban  gives  place  to  the  umbrella  and  the  parasol  and 
to  hats  akin  to  them.  The  widest  and  most  varied  head  gear  belongs  to 
China,  Korea,  and  Japan.  The  distinctions  of  rank,  locality,  and  sect 
are  drawn  on  the  hat.  With  these,  further  than  they  are  survivals 
from  earlier  industrial  forms,  there  is  nothing  to  do  here.  The  travel- 
ing hat  of  all  these  regions  and  of  farther  India,  so  far  as  it  is  related 
to  China,  the  traveler's  and  the  Coolie's  hat  is  an  individual  roof,  a 
defense  against  sun  and  rain. 

Says  Bush : 

1  could  not  help  admiring  the  taste  displayed  by  many  of  these  Giliaks  whom  we 
passed  in  the  manufacture  of  their  hats.  They  are  made  of  birch  bark,  shaped  like, 
a  low,  broad  cone,  the  outside  covered  with  beautiful  scroll-work  figures  cut  from 
stained  bark.1 

In  the  temperate  regions  there  has  been  most  traveling,  but,  aside 
from  fur,  hat  material  is  scarce.  Above  the  temperate,  in  the  boreal 
regions,  men  are  compelled  to  draw  in  the  awnings  for  rain  and  sun 
shedding,  to  substitute  a  wind  and  cold  proof  material,  and  to  encase 
the  head  in  the  hat  to  keep  out  the  cold.  In  other  words,  the  boreal 
man  wears  a  hood  rather  than  a  hat. 

The  distribution  of  the  hood  is  as  follows:  (1)  All  Eskimo,  of  fur, 
attached  to  parka;  (2)  Athapascans,  of  buckskin,  ornamented;  (3) 
Koraks. 

'"Reindeer,  Dogs,  and  Suowshoes,"  New  York,  1871,  p.  99.  Compare  Tlingit 
painted  and  overlaid  hat,  Aleut  visor  hats  covered  with  carved  ivory,  painted  bands, 
and  figure.**,  and  east  Greenland  articles  adorned  with  little  figures,  Albert  P. 
Niblack,  Rep.  Smithsonian  Inst.  (U.  S.  Nat.  Mus.),  1888;  also  G.  Holm,  "Ethnolo- 
gisk  Skizice,"  Copenhagen,  1887,  pis.  xxvnr-xi.. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION.  267 

SUNPROOF  ANI>  TRAVELERS'  HATS  ix  THE  r.  $.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM. 


Museum  number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

5362 

China  

J.  Varden. 

154249 
167190 

Hat,  palm  leaf  r.ml  rattan  
Hat  

Hoihow,  China  
Mongolia  

Dr.  Julius  Neumann. 
\V.  \\".  Rockhill. 

167188  167189 

do  

Tibet     

Do. 

167191   167193 

do 

do 

Do 

77061 

Hat,  coolie's  

Korea  

J.  H.  Bernadou. 

77065 

..do 

Do. 

60236 

Hat,  rain  

Southeast  Alaska      

J.  J.  McLean. 

73840 

Alaska 

T  Dix  Bolles  TJ  S  N 

16267 

.do              

W.  H.  Ball. 

72447-72449 

Hat,  straw  

do  

J.  J.  McLean. 

20884-20885 

Queen  Charlotte  Island 

J.  G.  Swan. 

C70 

Hat,  basket  

Northwest  Coast  

George  Gibbs. 

1782 

Hat  native 

do  

Dr  Suckley. 

2576 

Hat,  plaited  straw  

do  

Lieut.  Wilkes,  U.  S.  N. 

2577 

Hat,  water-tight  

do  

Do. 

2581 

do  

do  

Do. 

2695 

Hat,  straw  

..   ..do      ...           ... 

Do. 

2719-2722 

Hat  

do  

Do. 

671 

Ilat.'basket  

Strait  of  Fuca 

1039 

Hat,  conical,  Makah  Indians  .  . 

Neah  Bay,  Washington  .  .  . 

J.  G.  Swan. 

BAIN   CLOAKS. 

The  rain  cloak  is  a  roof  of  thatch  for  the  body.  It  is  found  in  regions 
where  there  is  much  going  about,  much  rain,  and  suitable  material  for 
its  manufacture.  In  its  manufacture  or  plan  of  structure  will  be  found 
not  only  provision  for  turning  rain  from  the  wearer's  body,  but  that 
other  omnipresent  thought  in  the  minds  of  manufacturers  which  com- 
pels them  to  make  things  easy  of  transportation  in  the  least  compass. 
There  is  more  time  and  cost  expended  in  making  a  parasol  or  umbrella 
easy  to  carry  than  in  making  it  sunproof  or  rainproof. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

447,  448 
73062 

152534 
36186-36137 
49101 
43337-43338 
38817 
153733 
129816 
129339 
43283 
127671 
1276C8 
56083 

-   Cfipp 

Japanese  rain  cloaks  
Rain  coat  

Japan  
North  Formosa.  China.  . 

Kiungchow,  China  
C.  East  Siberia 

Commodore  Perry. 
Koyal  Gardens,    Kew, 
land. 
Dr.  Julius  Neumann. 
K.\V.  Nelson. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
J.  H.  Turner. 
Mrs.  M.  McL.  Ha/.an. 
L.  M.  Turner. 
E.  W.  Nelson. 
J.  W.  Johnson. 
Do. 
C.  L.  McKay. 
Do. 

Eng- 

Waterproof  shirt,  intestine  
.do                              

C.  Prince  of  Wales  
Golovina  Bay  

...  .do                    .   .            

Waterproof  dress,  lishsk  in  
Waterproof  dress,  intestine  
do 

Mission,  Alaska  
St.  Michaels,  Alaska  
'do  .. 

do           .                          .          !  <1"  -  - 

do  

Nushagag,  Alaska  
Fort  Alexander,  Alaska. 
do  

do                       

do  

do    

Bristol  Bay,  Alaska  
...do.. 

...do.. 

268  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

RAIN  CLOAKS  IN  THK  1'.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM — Continued. 


Muspum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed 

20919 

8943 

G8134 

Waterproof  dress,  iiitestine.  ... 

do  
do      

I'nalaslika.   Aleutian 
Islands. 
....  do  
Hudson  Bay 

J.  G.  Swan. 

A.  H.  Hofi",  U.S.A. 
J.  T.  Brown. 

10170 

do           

Igloolik 

C  F  Hall 

74450  74451 

do                      

I,   \[   Turner 

3G944 

128870 

Kain  coat  of  rushes  

Washington  State     

7G930 

Palm  -leaf  rain  cloak  

T'6583 

Dr   E  Palmer 

75054-75956 

do 

131050 

America. 

W   W  Rockhill 

SUNSHADES  AND  UMBRELLAS. 

The  sunshade  aud  umbrella  are  in  effect  hats.     They  do  not  exist  in 
eastern  Asia  outside  the  bamboo  area,  the  lightness  and  strength  of 

the  material  invit- 
ing to  their  creation. 
In  tropical  America 
they  may  be  an  inno- 
vation (fig.  7).  But 
in  antiquity  gor- 
geous examples  are 
part  of  the  travel- 
ing conveniences  of 
royal  persons.  In  the 
sculptures  of  Egypt, 
Nineveh,  and  Per 
sepolis  umbrellas  are 
frequently  figured. 
In  ancient  Greece 
and  Rome,  in  medie 
val  Europe,  they  had 
reached  the  stage  of 
art  and  effeminacy. 
Useful  umbrellas 
were  plentiful  in 
London  in  the  eight- 
eenth century,  and  we  read  of  common  examples  for  coffee  houses  and 
parishes.1 


Fig.  7. 

THE  PRIMITIVE  UMBRELLA  IN  GUATEMALA. 

i  a  figure  in  "The  Capitals  of  South  America,"  by  VV.  K.  Curti; 


'Cf.  Gay,  "Trivia,"  London,  1716;  "Notes  and  Queries."  London,  series  5,  vi, 
pp.  202,  313. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


269 


KAR    PROTKrTOKS. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

175101 

Ear  protectors                         

I  .eb  Ladakh 

Dr  W  L  Abbott 

4508S  45089 

K   W  Nelson 

38694 
55981 

Ear  flaps  or  protectors  of  fur  

Kon<;ig,  Alaska  
Bristol  I!a\    Alask'i 

Do. 
Charles  L  McKay 

70724 

....  do  

(4LOVKS   AND    3IITTKNS    IN    THE    I  .  S.   NATIONAL    MUSKfM. 

The  defense  of  the  hand  is  imperative  in  Arctic  and  boreal  travel, 
hence,  the  glove  is  universal  around  the  hyperborean  region.  The 
clothing  of  the  band  is  bound  by  the  conditions  of  (1)  temperature, 
(2)  piercing  wind,  (3)  material  most  handy  and  eHertnal,  (4)  the  use 
to  which  the  hand  must  be  put  on  the  journey  of  fishing,  hunting, 
paddling,  trap  setting,  dog  driving,  etc.  Hence  will  be  found  the 
mitten  with  and  without  thumb,  the  glove  with  each  finger  distinct, 
and  the  glove  with  other  dividing  of  the  fingers.  As  the  student 
moves  from  Eskimo  to  Athapascan  tribes  in  America  he  passes  from 
the  fur  mitten  to  the  buckskin  glove. 

In  an  elaborative  series  the  hand  covering  may  be  classified  by 
material,  by  complexity  of  structure,  and  by  function.  The  U.  S. 
National  Museum  series  divide  themselves  into  mittens,  divided  mit- 
tens, and  gloves.  A II  of  these  may  be  further  separated  into  haired 
and  unhaired,  the  former  into  hair  inside  and  hair  outside.  The  gloves 
in  the  series  have  the  fingers  sewed  on  all  around  where  they  join  the 
hand  and  are  not  continuous  as  in  the  modern  examples.  Among  the 
Eskimos  gloves  are  essential  not  only  against  cold,  but  also  in  handling 
the  vicious  dog. 

In  the  Nelson  collection  (Nos.  1038, 5250)  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum 
is  a  pair  of  gloves  from  the  Kaviarigmnt,  south  of  St.  Michaels.  The 
three  compartments  of  the  left  hand  glove  are  characteristic,  of  this 
region  only.  Uualeet  name,  aghe  'gaat,  'Malemut,  ad  the  gaat. 


Museum 

number. 

Specimen. 

Locality 

By  whom  contributed. 

129426 

(Moves  knit 

Norway  

Mrs.  E.  S  Brinton. 

128328 

7:11  IK 

Tate  Vama.  Japan     .... 

P.  L.  Tony. 

150688 
1439 
38454 

Mittens    

Mittens,  Chukchi  

Yezo,  Japan  
\    K.Asia  
r.criii"  Straits 

Homyn  Hitchcock. 
Commodore  John  Rodders. 
E.  W.  Nelson 

48176,48177 
153529 

(i  loves,  embroidered  

Mitts    ...                       .      .     .. 

SilH-ria  

North  Siberia 

Do. 

Lieut  G   15.  Harber  1'    S    N 

64271 

K   \V   Nelson 

43322 
43324 

Mittens,  waterproof.  ver\  loin; 

i  nilo\  ina   I'.av.  Alaska    .  . 
do 

Do. 
Do 

43341 

<ilo\cS     Seal    pi   It       

do  

Do 

r.;:;4-'  43:14:1 

Mitts,  two  nairs.  seal  pells 

...do  . 

Do. 

270  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894 

GLOVKS  AND  MITTENS  IN  THE  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSKUM — Continued. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

48101 

E  W.  Nelson 

48381 

Mittens  waterproof  

do  

Do. 

45084 

Do 

45085 

Gloves  man's,  seal  skin  

do  . 

Do 

45398 

Mittens  man's,  seal  skin  

do 

Do 

48127 

Mittens  seal  skin,  waterproof.  .  . 

.     do 

Do 

48127 

do 

Do 

43782 

Do 

45286 

Gloves  waterproof,  seal  skin.  

.     .  do 

Do 

8783 

Mittens  leather        .  ,  

"W  H  Dall 

7584 

Do 

44350 
572 
892 

Mittens,  deerskin  
Mittens,  man's  

Norton  Bay,  Alaska  
Yukon  River,  Alaska  .  .  . 

Do. 
B.  R.  Ross. 

7592 

Gloves,  wirier  

W.  H  Dall 

7593  7594 

do 

Do 

7595 

do                 

do 

Do 

2017 

Mittens  

B  R  Ross 

8781 

Mittens,  fishskin  and  seal  pelt.  .  . 

do  

W.  H.  Dall. 

10489 

Mittens,  dogskin  

...    do  

J.  T.  Dyar. 

38455 

Gloves  embroidered  

E.  W  Nelson 

64280  64287 

Do 

243'>4 

Gloves,  deer  pelt  

Do 

7600 
72842 

Gloves,  summer,  deerskin  
Mittens,  buckskin,  embroidered 

Mahlemuts,  Alaska  

W.  H.  Dall. 

21598 

Dr  J  B  White 

73056 
74433,  74434 

Mittens,    with    strap   to   hang 
around  the  neck,  ornamented 
with  beads. 
Gloves,  buckskin      

Bristol  Bay,  Alaska  

C.  L.  McKay. 

153759 

Mittens     .  .. 

do 

J.  H  Turner 

127335 

Mittens,  fishskin  

Bristol  Bay 

I.  Applegate. 

55967 

Bristol  Ba^  Alaska 

55968 

Mittens,  woven  grass  

do  

Do. 

55970 

Mittens,  flshskiu  

do  

Do. 

56066 

Gloves  

do  

Do. 

56067 

Mittens  .'.. 

do. 

Do. 

36207 
44145 

Gloves,  white  fur  on  back  
Gloves,  fingers  sewed  in  2  pairs 

Bering  Straits  
Kotzebue  Sound 

E.  W.  Nelson. 
Do. 

48135 

do  

..    do  . 

Do. 

89829 
128398 

Gloves,  deerskin  (two  pairs)  
Gloves,  boy's  

Point  Barrow,  Alaska.  .  . 
do  .  . 

Lieut.  P.  H.  Ray,  U.  S.  N. 
E.  P.  Herendeen. 

128400 

Gloves,  infant's  

do  

Do. 

153602 

Mittens,  winter  

do  

John  Murdoch. 

64289 

Mittens,  old  bird  skin. 

Diomedo  Island.  Alaska 

E.  W.  Nelson. 

90461 

Mittens,  fishskin.   . 

William  J  Fislnv 

90462 

Mittens,  grass  

do  

Do. 

49115 

887 

Mittens,  buckskin  and  quill  
Mittens,  woman's  

Xanana  River  
Lower  Mackenzie  River 

E.  W.  Nelson. 
R.  Kennicott. 

1710 

Gloves,  deerskin,  man's  

do  

R.  MacFarlane. 

1727 

Mittens,  bearskin,  woman's  

Mackenzie  River 

Do. 

1728 

Mittens,  deerskin,  man's. 

ilo 

Do 

5131 

Mittens,  bearskin  

do              

Do. 

5132  5133 

do 

Do 

1337 

Mitten*,  deerskin... 

Anderson  River  .  .  . 

<:.  1'.  Uaudet. 

PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


271 


(iLOVK-s  AND  MITTKNS  IN  THE  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MuSF-UM— Continued. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

1338 

Mitti-n  iiiin-i    I'olar  ln-ar»kiii 

Anderson  River  .   .  . 

C.  P.  Gainli-t 

1665 

Gloves,  bearsk  in  

....  do  

R.  MacKarlaiie. 

1668 

Mittens,  fo\  skin      

do       

Do. 

1680.1681 

do             

Do 

1682 

Mitti  us,  di'erskin    

do  

Do. 

1C84 

Mittens,  fox  and  deerskin        .  .  . 

do  

1704 

Mittens,  fox  skin  

do  

I).. 

1729,  1730 

Mittens,  deerskin  

do  • 

2224,2225 

Gloves            

do 

Do 

7638 

Do 

7639-7641 

Gloves,  blackand  white  wolverine 

do  

Do. 

7643-7646 

do  

do  

7647 

Gloves  (odd),  fur-lined  

do 

Do 

11008 

Glovrs,  chamois  

Ha  Hi  n  Land  

Capt  C  F  Hall 

5212 

Mittens                     

Repulse  Bay 

Do 

68118 

M  its,  sealskin           

Hudson  Bay  

Charles  G.  Onbotirnr 

68119 

do  

Do 

14254 

Mittens                   

Baffin  Land  

Capt.  C.  F.  Hall 

13137 

Greenland      

13136 

Mittens,  woolen     

do  

Do. 

37546 

do 

N  P  Scndder 

153519 

Mittens          

Labrador  

Henry  G.  Bryant. 

90071 

Mittens,  child's,  beaded  

do  

L.  M.  Turner. 

90074 

Mittens,  long,  sealskin  

...   .do  

Do. 

90194.  90195 

do  

Do 

MOM 

...do  

do  

Do. 

90355 

Mittens,  toy  

do  

Do. 

744S2,  74483 

Gloves,  skin  

do  

Do 

74484 

Gloves,  white  fur  

do  

Do. 

23741 

South  Dakota 

Paul  Beckwith 

20794 

do 

Sitka  Alaska 

J  G  Swan 

18911 

Mittens,  buckskin  

Northwest  coast  

Do 

•       131245 
12080 

Gloves,  embroidered,  Colvilles  .  . 
Mittens,  Pai  Ute  Indians  

Southern  Utah      

Dr.  Geo.M.  Sober,  U.S.  A. 
Maj.J.  W.Powell. 

14629 
14634 

Mit  t.  us,  fur,  Pai  Ute  Indians  
...  do  

do  
do 

Do. 
Do 

TRAVELERS'  STAVES. 

The  traveler  is  usually  seen  with  some  sort  of  stick  or  staff  in  his 
hand.  This  series  of  utensils  find  their  artistic  culmination  in  the 
modern  costly  cane  and  in  many  beautiful  uses  of  the  word  in  poetry. 
The  magic  staff  and  the  crozier  connect  this  class  of  objects  with  myth- 
ology, folklore,  and  ecclcsiasticism.  The  uses  of  the  walking  stick  are  as 
follows:  For  staff  on  which  to  lean  and  as  a  weapon;  the  walking  stick, 
in  the  hand  of  all  carriers;  climbing  stick,  or  alpenstock;  rest  for  load, 
often  forked;  steering  for  skees,  frequently  shod;  help  in  rising,  a^- 
aiming  the  Papago,  etc.;  protection,  culminating  in  the  cro/ier. 

The  frequency  of  the  staff  in  the  hands  of  Assyrian  kings,  shown  on 
the  ancient  monuments,  recalls  t  ho  days  when  it  was  a  necessity  to  every 
pedestrian,  not  only  for  support  but  for  defense. 


272 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1894. 


The  staff  of  the  Norwegian  skee  rider  is  a  mere  balancing  pole,  which 
may,  and  probably  does,  come  by  and  by  to  be  the  alpenstock.  Nan- 
sen,  in  his  excellent  chapter  on  the  skee,  to  be  noted  further  on,  con 

demns  the  staff  for  the  professional  skee 
rider,  and  shows  how  the  best  prize  riding 
is  done  without  it.  Practically,  however, 
while  on  his  journey  across  the  inland  ice, 
he  is  never  seen  without  one  in  his  hand. 
The  indispensable  accompaniment  of 
the  Indian  and  rude  peoples  on  snowshoes 
is  the  pole  or  staff.  It  exists  in  two  forms, 
the  shod  and  the  unshod.  At  the  bot- 
tom of  the  shod  staff 
a  little  wheel  about 
6  inches  in  diameter 
is  made  of  wood  in 
Norway,  but  in  Fin- 
land or  northeastern 
Asia  or  in  Alaska 
the  wheel  is  a  hoop  of 
bone  with  four  or 
more  spokes  of  raw- 
hide. Doubtless  the 
STiowshoe  staff  is  of 
recent  Asiatic  intro- 
duction. 

The  snowshoe  staff' 
of  the  Lapps,  Finns, 
and  Norwegians  (fig. 
8)  is  a  pole  8  feet  or 
more  loug,shod  atthe 
bottom  with  a  strip 
of  antler  or  bone.  A 
very  fe  winches  above 
this  point  or  spud  is 
a  hoop  aboutG  inches 
in  diameter,  attached 
to  the  staff  at  right 

angles  by  rawhide  strings  radiating  and  forming 
a  kind  of  suowshoe.  Precisely  this  form  is  to  be 
seen  in  Alaska  but  the  Giliaks  on  the  Amur  at- 
tach a  paddle  to  the  upper  end  of  the  staff1  (fig.  9). 

At  Oudskoi,  on  the  Okhotsk  Sea,  Bush  figures       l'Hmie  ' 
natives  on  skees  carrying  in  hand  the  pole  with   a  little  wheel  stop 
near  the  bottom.2 

'Schrenk,  "Reisen  nnd  Forschungen  im  Aiuur-I.ande,"  St.  Petersburg,  1891,  K. 
akad.  Wissensch.,  in,  p.  476. 

-"Reindeer,  Dogs,  and  Snovvshoes,"  Now  York,  1871,  p.  194. 


FINLAND    SKEE    STAFF    WITH    SNOWSHOK 

AT  THE  BOTTOM. 

Cat.  No.  167889,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  .lohn  M. 
Crawford. 


Fig.  9. 

THE  SNOWSHOKR'S  STAFF 
OF  THE  GIUAK. 

•romn  figure  mSchrenk's  "  Reisen 


chiingen 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


273 


Hooper  speaks  of  a  <;  long,  thiu  staff  of  driftwood,  shod  at  the  foot 
with  pointed  ivory  or  seal's  tooth,  and  furnished  with  a  circular  frame, 
generally  of  whalebone,  sometimes  6  or  8  inches  in  diameter,  attached 
to  it  3  or  4  inches  above  the  shoe;  this  frame  is  covered  with  a  net 
work  of  hide  cord,  ami  its  use  is  intended  to  prevent  the  staff  going 
deep  in  the  snow  and  so  tripping  him  whose  support  it  should.be.  It  is 
a  valuable  acquisition,  particularly  with  snowshoes"1  (fig.  10).  There 
are  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  examples  from 
Finland,  western  Alaska,  and  Schrenk  figures 
them  from  the  Amur  country.2 

The  only  staff  used  by  the  young  and  vigorous 
at  Point  Barrow,  according  to  Murdoch,  is  the 
shaft  of  the  spear,  when  one  is  carried.  The 
aged  and  feeble,  however,  support  their  steps 
with  one  or  two  staves  about  5  feet  long,  often 
shod  with  bone  or  ivory.  (The  old  man  whom 
Franklin  met  on  the  Coppermine  River  walked 
with  the  help  of  two  sticks. ):t 

The  walking  stick  of  the  Carrier  Indian  of 
British  Columbia,  which  he  uses  in  winter,  is 
precisely  like  that  seen  in  the  hands  of  the  hyper- 
boreans, with  a  little  circular  snowshoe  fastened 
about  the  stock  near  the  bottom.  The  Indian 
makes  a  novel  use  of  his  staff.  Having  a  leather 
loop  like  the  guard  of  a  sword  fastened  at  the 
top,  he  puts  his  left  hand  through  it  and  lays 
his  gun  barrel  on  his  hand  for  a  rest.  Father 
Morice  figures  a  carrier  kneeling  and  shooting 
with  his  gun  thus  sustained.4 

"Sometimes  a  man  shall  meet  a  lame  man  or 
an  old  Man  with  a  Staffe;  but  generally  a  staff 
is  a  rare  sight  in  the  hand  of  the  eldest,  their  Constitution  is  so  strong. 
I  have  upon  occasion  travelled  many  a  score,  yea  many  a  hundred  mile 
amongst  them  without  need  of  stick  or  staff'e,  for  an  appearance  of  dan- 
ger amongst  them."5 

Many  of  the  market  people  (of  Ayacucho)  come  on  foot  from  consid- 
erable distances,  the  women  carrying  their  babies  on  their  backs  in 
bundles  called  rcepi,  and  the  young  men  using  a  walking  stick  for  sup- 
port in  passing  up  and  down  the  wearisome  ravines.6 


Fig.  10. 

SNOWSHOEB'S  STAFF  OF    THE 
CAPE  NOME  ESKIMO. 

Cat.  No.  45tt3,  U.  8.  N.  M.     Collet-ted  by 
E.  W.  Nelson. 


1  "Tents  of  the  Tuski,"  London,  1853,  Murray,  p.  147. 

-"Reisen  und  Forschungen  iin  Amur-Lande,"  p.  476. 

3Murdoch,  Ninth  Ann.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology, p. 352, quoting  Franklin,  " First 
Expedition."  II,  p.  ISO. 

«Trans.  Canadian  lust.,  1894,  iv,  155,  figs.  144,  145. 

sSee  Coll.  R.  I.  Hist.  Soc.,  I,  p.  76,  for  paper  l»y  Roger  Williams,  "  Key  into  the 
language  of  the  Indians  of  New  England.'' 

*>Markhaui,  "Journey  to  Cuzco,"  London,  1856,  p.  64. 
H.  Mis.  90,  pt.  2 18 


274  REPORT    OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

TRAVELERS'  STAVES  IN  THE  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

i    By  whom  contributed. 

167889,  167890 

Finland 

.     11  on..  I   W  Crawford 

45423-45425 
46297 

Staves  used  for  supporting  travel- 
ers on  ice 
Bottom  of  snow  cane  

Cape  Nome,  Alaska  .  . 
Alaska  

.  .    E.  W.  Nelson. 
W.  H.Dall. 

14953 

Staff  

Aleutian  Islands.  .. 

W.  H.  Ball 

151695 

Staff  with  knob,  Kaffirs.  -  

Africa  

165348 

Cane  walking  

...  do  

165349 

Staff  walking  

..  do  

Do 

166114 

-do  

West  Africa        

Heli  Chatelain 

The  stilt  and  the  stilted  shoe  scarcely  enter  into  this  study.  The 
latter  is  more  for  lifting  the  feet  out  of  a  wet  environment,  or  in  some 
countries  to  elevate  the  bodies  of  persons  of  high  degree.  There  is 
an  endless  variety  of  stilted  shoes  in  the  Mohammedan  areas,  in  Persia 
and  in  Japan. 

The  stilt  finds  favor  in  certain  parts  of  France,  but  here  they  serve 
chiefly  to  lift  the  shepherd  to  enable  him  to  keep  his  eye  on  his  flock. 
They  are,  in  company  with  his  staff,  a  kind  of  tripod  watchtower  or 
light-house. 

The  Popular  Science  Monthly  records  a  race  between  pedestrians, 
stilt  walkers,  and  horses  from  Bordeaux,  France,  over  a  course  of  400 
kilometers.  The  pedestrians  dropped  out  at  235  kilometers.  At  the 
end  of  sixty-two  hours  the  race  was  completed,  the  horse  reaching  the 
goal  twenty-eight  minutes  ahead  of  the  best  stilt  walker.1 

One  of  the  favorite  amusements  among  these  people  (Washington 
Island,  Marquesas,)  says  Langsdorff,  is  running  on  stilts  over  paved 
dancing  places,  children  being  thoroughly  habituated  to  the  exercise 
by  the  time  they  are  12  years  old.2 

Carved  stilts  of  the  Marquesas  islanders,  attached  to  bambo  handles, 
beautifully  etched,  are  in  the  Christy  collection  and  the  Munich 
Museum  as  well  as  in  the  TJ.  S.  National  Museum.3 

* 

LOCOMOTION   AND   BURDEN   BEARING  IN   THE  AIR. 

The  serpent,  having  no  limbs  whatever,  would  seein  at  first  sight  to 
be  terribly  handicapped;  yet,  in  the  language  of  Professor  Owen,  "it 
can  outclimb  the  monkey,  outswim  the  fish,  outleap  the  jerboa,  and  sud- 
denly loosing  the  close  coils  of  its  crouching  spiral,  it  can  spring  into 
the  air  and  seize  the  bird  on  the  wing."  Here  we  have  the  spiral  spring 
in  nature  before  it  was  devised  by  man. 

'Popular  Science  Monthly,  New  York,  1891,  xr.vi,  p.  284;  also  (Juyot-Daiibes, 
"  Stilts  and  Stilt  Walking,"  ibid.,  XL,  p.  467. 

•Langsdorff,  "Voyages,"  London,  1813,  i,  p.  l(J9. 
3Figured  by  Ratzel,  "  Volkerkunde,"  n,  pp.  133-134. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  275 

Flying  animals  conform  to  this  law  of  variety  of  gifts.  Thus  we  have 
birds,  like  the  penguin,  which  dive  and  swim,  but  can  not  fly;  others, 
like  the  gannet,  which  dive,  swim,  fly,  and  walk ;  others,  like  the  ostrich, 
which  run,  but  neither  fly  nor  swim,  and  numberless  birds  which  fly 
well,  but  have  only  slight  pedestrian  powers.1  Those  who  enjoy  the  con- 
templation of  nature,  as  the  tireless  pedagogue  of  man,  will  find  innum- 
erable examples  in  this  portion  of  the  traveling  art.  Every  kind  of 
ascending  and  descending  obtrudes  itself  on  the  human  imagination  as 
au  example  and  a  challenge. 

It  has  been  previously  remarked  in  this  paper  that  through  the 
exercise  of  the  faculty  of  invention  locomotion  in  the  three  elements, 
to  wit,  on  the  land,  in  the  water,  and  in  the  air  can  be  prosecuted  fur- 
ther, longer,  and  more  effectually  by  man  than  by  any  other  living  beings 
whatever.  Traveling  about  and  moving  of  things  require  not  only 
horizontal  motion,  but  movement  upward,  and  in  primitive  life  this  may 
be  considered  under  the  general  head  of  climbing. 

The  inclined  plane  is  the  most  simple  of  the  mechanical  powers.  It 
exists  everywhere  in  nature,  and  simply  in  following  the  lines  of  least 
resistance  animals,  especially  the  ruminants,  have  covered  the  earth  in 
its  elevated  portions  with  a  network  of  paths  and  trails  which  have 
been  subsequently  adopted  by  aboriginal  peoples. 

The  whole  subject  of  the  inclined  plane,  in  its  relation  to  travel  and 
transportation,  would  better  be  considered  after  the  division  of  roads; 
and  even  devices  like  stairways,  such  as  may  be  seen  in  various  parts 
of  the  world  cut  in  the  highways  in  order  to  facilitate  locomotion  and 
to  get  over  difficult  places,  would  also  better  come  under  the  same 
division. 

The  discouragement  of  travel  is  quite  as  great  among  the  wealth 
of  nature  as  amid  its  poverty;  the  magnificent  forest,  where  there  can 
be  no  track  and  where  the  traveler  must  cut  and  climb  for  himself,  is 
just  as  tenantless  as  the  dry  and  tliirsty  land  where  no  water  is.  But 
there  is  a  small  class  of  devices  or  inventions  for  mounting  trees  and 
other  objects  which  may  be  considered  apart  from  the  general  topic  of 
roads. 

Nowadays  the  patent  elevator  carries  freight  and  passengers  to  the 
tops  of  buildings  over  twenty  stories  high,  but  in  the  beginning  men 
knew  how  to  ascend  trees  by  the  simple  use  of  hands  and  feet.  To 
facilitate  this  operation,  however,  among  very  low  savages  will  be  found 
;i  small  class  of  inventions  which  at  once  divides  itself  into  two  species; 
one  leading  to  the  perfection  of  the  ladder,  the  other  is  attached  to  the 
human  body,  and  renders  more  effective  the  grip  of  the  hand  and  the  feet 
in  the  ascent.  This  class  finds  its  latest  expression  in  the  devices  used 
l»y  those  engaged  in  laying  and  repairing  telegraph  wires  at  the  top  of 
the  long  poles.  The  loops  on  the  savage  man's  feet  are  the  spikes  on 


<T.  .J«Ti-ini:tli  llc:i<l.  Hep.  Brit.  A-.,,-..  isi»:t.  pp. 860-873. 


276 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


the  climber's  boots,  aud  the  coarse  vine  about  the  tree  and  the  waist 
of  the  former  answers  to  the  broad  strap  used  by  the  latter.  The  action 
is  the  same;  the  man's  body  is  alternately  shortened  by  drawing-  up  the 
feet  and  lengthened  by  straightening  the  body. 

The  ladder  was  a  common  feature  in  ancient  warfare.  Besieging  by 
escalade  appears  frequently  in  Assyrian  sculpture  in  the  works  of 
Layard.  In  fact,  the  ladder  is  a  carrying  instrument,  that  may  be  easily, 
carried  in  turn,  a  portable  stairway,  in  which  the  maker's  problem  is 
to  get  an  elevating  device  of  the  greatest  efficiency  combined  with  the 
least  weight  and  inconvenience.  It  would  lead  too  far  away  from  the 
subject  to  consider  now  the  topic  of  ladder  and 
antiladder  in  ancient  warfare. 

All  through  the  Malay  area,  for  many  purposes 
not  necessary  here  to  discuss,  the  houses  are 
erected  above  ground,  and  are  approached  by 
ladders,  which  may  be  drawn  up,  and  indeed  are 
difficult  to  mount  except  by  those  who  are  accus- 
tomed to  doing  so. 

Forrest,  in  his  voyage,  speaks  of  the  ladder  as 
a  long,  notched  stick,  made  of  the  clove  tree,  and 
used  by  the  Malays  to  ascend  to  their  houses, 
which  he  declares  to  be  usually  built  on  posts 
above  the  ground.1 

It  will  be  remembered  in  this  connection  that 
aboriginally  all  the  stone  and  adobe  architecture 
of  the  southwestern  States  of  the  Union  was 
conceived  on  the  idea  of  the  greatest  possible 
use  of  the  movable  ladder  (fig.  11),  not  only  in 
ascending  from  the  outside,  but  also  in  descend- 
ing to  the  different  apartments.  A  ladder  of 
stout  bamboos,  to  which  cross  steps  are  lashed, 
shored  or  braced  with  bamboos  extending  from  vantage  points  to  the 
ground,  is  shown  in  Le  Tour  du  Monde.2 

Raffray  figures  a  New  Guinea  house  on  trestlework,  access  to  which 
is  gained  only  by  shinning  up  a  group  of  five  bare  poles  close  together 
at  the  top  on  the  doorsill  and  spread  out  a  little  below,  where  they 
rest  on  a  small  platform  on  top  of  short  piles.1' 

All  travelers  among  the  Kamchadals  and  the  Koraks  speak  of  the 
ladder  by  which  their  underground  dwellings  are  entered.  It  is  a  log 
with  holes  cut  into  it  as  steps.  One  is  figured  in  Bush's  work  4  as  the 
stairway  upon  the  light-house  at  Ghijigha  at  the  northern  end.  of 


Fig.  11. 

PRIMITIVE  NOTCHED  LADDER 
FROM  TUSAYAN,  ARIZONA. 

Fromafigure  in  MindelefT's  "Study  of 
Pueblo  Architecture,"  Eighth  Annual 
Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Kthnology. 


'Forrest,  "  Voyage  to  New  (iuinen,  and  the  Moluccas,"  p.  33;  E.  Best,  Jonrn.  Poly- 
nesian Hoc.,  Wellington,  1892,  i,  p.  12;  Ellis,  "  Polynesian  Researches,"  London,  1859, 
l,  p.  57. 

2  Vol.  i,  p.  9;  also  Wallace,  "  Malay  Archipelago,"  New  York,  1869,  pp.  66,  207. 

»Cf.  Rat/el,  "  Volkerkunde,"  n,  p.  269. 

<"  Reindeer,  Dogs,  and  Snowshoes,"  New  York,  1871,  p.  352. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  277 

Okhotsk  Sea.  The  handy  use  of  the  ladder  is  spoken  of  ns  a  dextrous 
feat. 

The  Cosumnes  of  California  ascend  the  pinon  trees  to  the  height  of 
30  or  40  feet  by  means  of  spliced  poles  long  enough  to  reach  the  first 
limbs.  The  pole  was  held  in  place  by  Indians  on  the  ground  while  an 
expert  climber  ascended  and  beat  oft"  the  cones  with  a  short  pole.1 
This  is  not  quite  explicit.  The  splicing  of  poles  is  also  known  to  the 
Amur  people,  who  sometimes  harpoon  a  seal  KM)  feet  from  shore  by 
means  of  a  spliced  shaft.- 

In  the  Eighth  Annual  Report  of  I  lie  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  the  archi- 
tecture of  all  the  Pueblos  is  elaborately  worked  out,  and  numerous 
examples  will  be  seen  of  the  manner  in  which  these  ladders  are  used 
by  the  inmates  for  ascending  and  descending.1 

The  ancient  Mexicans,  in  mining,  used  a  system  of  ladders  not  unlike 
those  employed  by  the  modern  hod  carriers  in  ascending  to  the  top  of 
a  tall  building,  only  they  were  of  a  much  ruder  sort.  Mark  Beaufoy, 
in  speaking  of  these  mines,  says:  "  The  carriers  work  their  way  to  the 
surface  by  means  of  notched  poles  put  across  a  part  of  the  shaft  in  a 
zigzag  fashion;  and  they  then  give  their  load  to  the  breakers,  who 
knock  the  ore  into  pieces  exactly  as  if  they  were  going  to  macadamize 
a  road." 

Squier,  in  speaking  of  the  Mosquito  Coast,  describes  a  method  of 
climbing  the  tree  employed  by  the  natives,  but  it  is  not  certain  that  this 
method  is  aboriginal,  since  the  population  of  the  Mosquito  Coast  is 
extremely  mixed.  Here  are  his  words: 

Antonio  had  brought  a  kind  of  sack  of  coarse  netting  which  he  tied  about  hia 
neck.  He  next  cut  a  section  of  a  tough  vine  and  braided  a  hoop  around  one  of  the 
tiees.  Slipping  this  over  his  head  and  down  to  his  waist  he  literally  walked  up 
the  tree.  Leaning  back  he  planted  his  feet  against  the  trunk,  clinging  to  which 
first  with  one  hand,  and  then  with  the  other,  lie  worked  up  the  hoop,  taking  a  step 
with  every  upward  movement.  In  a  minute  he  was  60  feet  from  the  ground,  leaning 
back  and  tilling  bis  sack  with  nuts.  This  done  be  swung  his  load  over  hisshoiildt-rs, 
grasped  the  tree  in  his  arms,  let  the  hoop  fall,  and  slid  rapidly  to  the  ground.4 

Mercer  describes  the  ladders  made  by  the  women  of  northern  Yuca- 
tan for  descending  into  the  water  caves  as  made  of  boughs,  the  rungs 
bound  on  with  twigs.  On  a  series  of  them  he  descended  into  the  cave 
of  Act un  Chack/'  A  similar  water  cave  at  Caba  Chen  is  entered  by  a 
staircase  of  one  hundred  stone,  steps. 

Aeronautics  seem  to  have  been  a  very  early  study.  The  inquiry, 
"Birds  can  fly,  and  why  can't  I! "seems  long  ago  to  have  entered 
ingenious  minds.  Archytas,  of  Tarentuin,  as  far  back  as  400  B.  C.,  is 


1  Cf.  Mooney,  Am.  Anthropologist,  1X!»0,  p. '_'">!». 
•Schreuk,  "  Reisen  und  Forschungen  im  Amur-Lande,"  in. 
3  Eighth  Ann.  Rep.  liim-au  <>t'  Ethnology,  fig.  46. 
'Sipiicr,  "The  Mosquito  Coast,"  London,  1857,  p.  62. 

*H.  C.  Mercer,    "The  Hill  Caves   of  Yucatan,"  Philadelphia,  IX'.Mi.  pp.  <IL',   140; 
Morelet.  ••  Travels  in  Central  America,"  New  York,  1X71.  pp.  MU7.  420. 


278  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

said  to  have  made  a  bird  that  could  fly.  But  up  to  the  moment  of  this 
writing  neither  freight  nor  passengers  have  been  carried  through  the 
air  by  the  force  of  the  wind  or  by  any  engine. 

The  balloon  belongs  to  the  epoch  of  chemistry,  the  eighth  in  the 
series  of  powers  put  to  work  by  man  (page  240).  It  was  not  until  human 
ingenuity  had  succeeded  in  alienating  and  confining  hydrogen  that 
such  a  device  as  a  balloon  was  thought  of.1 

Dr.  Emil  Schmidt  figures  a  Comoriu  man  climbing  the  palm  tree  to 
gather  the  palm  wine.  The  essential  parts  of  the  apparatus  are  (1)  the 
loop  uniting  the  feet  and  giving  a  bearing  against  the  tree,  (2)  the  seat 
and  its  sling  passing  from  the  ends  of  the  seat  about  the  tree  and 
inclosing  the  man.  The  climber  rests  alternately  in  the  seat  and  on 
his  feet  as  he  hitches  himself  upward.2 

In  the  TJ.  S.  National  Museum  is  a  model  of  "  The  palmyra  climber 
and  his  implements,"  from  Ceylon,  acquired  at  the  Chicago  Exposition. 
A  man  with  the  apparatus  attached  to  himself  is  mounting  a  palm-tree 
and  gathering  the  sap. 

The  following  list  mentions  all  of  the  objects  connected  with  this  oper- 
ation :  (1)  The  knife  and  the  basket;  (2)  the  cocoanut-shell  bottle  which 
contains  an  oil  for  rubbing  around  the  tree  to  prevent  the  ants  from 
getting  to  the  toddy  pot;  (3)  the  chaunam  basket  of  the  toddy  drawer, 
containing  lime  to  put  into  the  pot  to  prevent  fermentation;  (4)  the 
short  club  of  the  toddy  drawers,  used  to  beat  the  young  tender  spathe 
for  preparing  it;  (5)  the  double  stick  used  by  toddy  drawers  for  press- 
ing the  young  tender  spathe  to  facilitate  the  flow  of  sap;  (6)  the  toddy 
drawer's  basket;  (7)  the  toddy  pot;  (8)  the  leather  piece  to  protect  the 
breast  of  the  climber;  (9)  the  leather  piece  to  protect  the  ankles  of  the 
climber;  (10)  the  foot  brace  used  for  the  feet  in  climbing. 

The  parts  of  the  palmyra  are  (1)  young  tender  palmyra  leaves;  (2) 
green  palmyra  leaves;  (3)  dried  palmyra  leaves;  (4)  the  bottom  of  a 
leafstalk  encircling  the  tree;  (5)  the  young  spathe  of  a  palmyra  tree 
and  toddy  pot;  (6)  the  tender  fruit  bunch  of  the  palmyra  on  its  first 
appearance;  (7)  the  young  fruit  bunch  of  the  palmyra  half  grown;  (8) 
the  amateur  fruit  bunch  of  the  palmyra;  (9)  the  full-grown  unripe 
fruit  bunch  of  the  palmyra;  (10)  the  fully  ripe  fruit  bunches  of  the 
palmyra. 

Ellis  says  of  the  Polynesian  climbing  that  the  cocoanut  trees  are 
often  60  or  more  feet  high,  with  a  tuft  of  leaves  on  top.  Yet  the  natives 
gather  the  fruit  with  ease.  A  little  boy  strips  oft'  a  piece  of  bark  from  a 
puran  branch  and  fastens  it  around  his  feet,  leaving  a  space  of  4  or  a 
inches  between  them,  and  then  clasping  the  tree  he  vaults  up  its  trunk 
with  greater  agility  than  a  European  could  ascend  a  ladder  to  an  equal 


'Cavendish  discovered  hydrogen  in  1766,  and  Montgolfier's  first  balloon  was  sent 
up  in  1788. 
""Reiseuach  Siidindieu,"  Leipzig,  1894,  p.  101. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


279 


elevation.     When  they  gather  a  bunch  at  a  time  they  lower  them  down 
with  a  rope.1 

The  ^Etas  or  pigmy  negritos  of  the  Philippines  are  said  by  Gironiere 
to  be  prodigiously  active  in  climbing  trees,  clasping  the  trunks  with 
their  hands  and  setting  the  soles  of  the  feet  against  the  trunk.-' 

The  Marquesans  climb  the  highest  trees  with  incredible  celerity,  not 
with  the  knees  pressed  close  to  the  trunk,  but  with  the  toes  spread  out. 
They  will  climb  the  steepest  rocks  with  extreme  facility;  in  running 
they  are  not  equally  expert.3 

Lumholtz,  in  his  work,  "Among  the  Cannibals"  (p.  89),  speaks  of  the 
Australians  climbing  huge  trees 
by  means  of  the  calamus  (Calamus 
australis),  native  name  Kamin.  In 
a  sketch  the  native  Australian  is 
represented  as  climbing  a  tree  by 
means  of  a  piece  of  vine,  the  fuiic 
tion  of  which  is  simply  to  lengthen 
his  arms  so  that  he  may  grasp  the 
trunk.  He  has  no  appliances  upon 
his  feet  whatever,  grasping  the 
tree  with  his  knees  and  toes  for 
an  instant,  and  before  he  has  time 
to  fall  he  throws  the  vine  higher 
up  where  it  catches  upon  the  rough 
bark,  and  he  is  thus  able  to  pull 
himself  a  little  further  along4  (fig. 
12).  In  the  Malay  and  Indian 
areas  the  climber  has  a  loop  con- 
necting his  two  ankles.  This  de- 
vice is  to  increase  the  grasp  of  his 
feet  upon  the  tree  and  to  form  a  ratchet  in  the  rough  bark,  which 
device  sustains  the  body  of  the  climber  until  he  can  throw  liis  loop 
higher  up. 

The  Indians  of  southeast  Alaska  understood  the  process  of  climbing 
trees  by  means  of  a  stout  line  made  of  twisted  cedar  bark  fiber.  In  the 
Kimnons  collections  in  New  York  from  that  region  are  two  specimens 
of  the  apparatus  thus  used. 

Lieutenant  G.  T.  Emmons,  U.  S.  N.,  whose  superb  collections  from 
the  Tlingit  area  are  without  a  parallel,  sends  to  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum  a  climbing  device,  which  in  its  complexity  reminds  one  of  the 
palmyra  climber  of  India.  It  is  No.  168806,  is  32  inches  long,  nearly 


Fig.  12. 


AUSTRALIAN   TBU-CUMBING   UKVICE. 


'Ellis,  "Polynesian  Researches,"  London,  Holm,  i,  p,  57. 

'•'"Twenty  Years  in  the  Philippines,"  quoted  by  E.  Best,  Journ.  Polynesian  Six-., 
Wellington,  1892,  I,  p.  IL'. 

''Langsdorft*,  "Voyages,"'  London,  1813,  i,  p.  174. 
'Also  Standard  Natural  History,  vn.  p.  :;."•. 


280 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


6  inches  wide,  and  1J  inches  thick  in  its  strongest  part.  Tt  is  made  of 
cedar,  and  this  piece  of  wood  lias  indeed  a  double  function.  The  greater 
part  is  like  a  swing  board  or  boatswain's  chair,  having  its  upper  side 
chamfered  for  the  rider,  and  the  underside  carved  to  represent  his 
totem.  Holes  are  bored  for  this  stout  cedar  rope,  which  is  knotted  at 
one  end  and  passes  through  the  outer  hole.  The  other  end  is  rove 
through  the  inner  hole  and  has  a  long,  loose  end.  Outside  of  this  swing- 
board  arrangement  is  carved  a  portion  which  resembles  a  cleat  and  has 
that  function. 

Lieutenant  Emmons  informs  the  writer  that  he  has  not  seen  this 
apparatus  at  work,  though  he  was  very  anxious  to  do  so.  It  appears, 
however,  that  the  woodcutter  or  carver,  as  the  case  might  be,  sits  upon 
the  seat,  puts  the  rope  around  the  tree  and  through  the  inner  hole  and 


Fig.  13. 

TREE-CLIMBING  DEVICE  OF  THE  TLING1T  INDIANS,  SOUTHEASTERN  ALASKA. 
C  ,t.  No.  168806,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Lieut,  (i.  T   Emmons,  U.  S.  N. 

makes  it  fast,  by  one  or  more  half  hitches,  to  the  cleat.  He  uses  the 
apparatus  in  climbing  the  tree  in  the  same  way  it  is  employed  in  India, 
and  also  uses  it  as  a  boatswain's  chair  in  holding  himself  in  position 
while  he  is  operating  upon  the  trunk.  This  is  the  only  example  the 
author  has  ever  seen  or  heard  of  belonging  to  this  class  in  America 
(fig.  13). 

Accompanying  this  specimen  and  probably  independent  of  it  is  a 
much  smaller  device  yet  quite  as  effective,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  draw- 
ing. A  number  of  long  strips,  or  ribbons,  of  cedar  bark  are  doubled 
in  two  sets  so  that  by  their  middles,  for  a  footer  more,  they  are  twisted 
into  a  two-ply  rope  forming  a  stout  loop,  and  this  is  wrapped  with  a 
sennit  of  cedar  bark  so  as  to  hold  the  loop  in  place.  The  ribbons  are 
then  laid  out  edge  to  edge  for  the  distance  of  3  feet  or  more  and  used 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


281 


as  a  warp  across  which,  by  open  x.igxag,  a  continuous  line  of  twine 
weaving  is  carried  from  one  end  to  the  other.  Uy  this  operation  the 
ends  are  gathered  in  and  wrapped  with  a  three-ply  braid.  The  remain- 
ing part  of  the  ribbons  are  then  split  or  shredded  and  twisted  into  a  line 
three-ply  rope.  The  loop  in  this  example  serves  the  same  purpose  as 


Fig.  14. 

TRKR-rLIHBIMO  DEVICE  OP  CEDAR  BARK    I  si  H  HV    I  UK.    1  l.lv.i  I    INDIANS, 

ALASKA. 
Cut.  No.  168807,  II.  S.  N.  M.     Colloctril  i.y  l.irut.  G   T.  Kminoiu,  U.  S.  N 

the  cleat  in  the  other.  The  broad  band  is  the  boatswain's  chair  and 
the  finely  twisted  rope  passes  around  the  tree  through  the  loop  and  is 
made  fast  by  half  hitches.  The  purpose  of  this  seems  to  be  the  same, 
although  Lieutenant  Emmons  had  not  the  good  fortune  to  see  this 
example  at  work  (fig.  14). 

CLIMBING  APPARATUS  IN  FHK  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

151338 

San  Thome,  East  Africa  . 

Heli  Cbatelain 

J5<)QO(j 

Carl  sti-ckrlniMiiii 

10535° 

Mayumba,  Africa  

Do. 

lt;«<ii(; 

Tlingit,  Alaska     

Lieut.  G.T  Kmnions  U.  S.  N. 

188807 

Climbing  implements,  cedar  hark  .  . 

...do... 

Do. 

SNOW    GOGGLES. 

After  the  long  arctic  winter  comes  the  trying  season  of  the  morning, 
when  the  low  sun  shining  over  the  glassy  ice  nearly  blinds  the  hunter 
and  compels  him  to  utili/e  his  inventive  faculty  to  the  utmost.  There 
are  two  lines  of  patents,  as  we  might  call  them,  for  protecting  the  eyes 
under  the  circumstances— the  visor  and  the  goggles  or  eyeshade  with 
slits.  In  the  U.S.  National  Museum  the  visor  reaches  its  climax  in  the 
highly  ornamented  kaiak  hat  of  the  Aleutian  seal  and  otter  hunter 
and  its  counterpart,  worn  by  the  Giliaks  on  the  Amur,  but  these 
belong  to  water  travel. 

There  is  in  the  IT.  S.  National  Museum  (Cat.  No.  68141)  a  pair  of 
snow  goggles  obtained  by  the  I'.  S.  Fish  Commission  from  one  of  the 
crew  of  the  whaling  brig  George  and  M<iry.  The  collector  affirms  that 
such  objects  are  used  not  only  by  the  Eskimo  but  by  United  States 


282 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


and  Hudson  Bay  whalemen  to  shield  the  eyes  from  the  glare  of  the 
sun.  The  example  here  referred  to  (fig.  15)  is  made  of  polished  spruce. 
The  eye  cavities  and  the  nose  groove  are  of  standard  eastern  type. 
The  eye  slits,  however,  are  extremely  regular,  and  the  whole  apparatus 
was  certainly  made  with  steel  tools  and  goods  polishers.  There  is  not 
a  shadow  of  a  visor  on  this  example.  The  head  band  consists  of  a  strip 
of  red  flannel  and  loops  of  braided  sinew,  the  last  named  being  the 
only  really  aboriginal  feature  about  the  specimen.  (Cat.  No.  68141, 
U.  S.  N.  M.,  4|  inches  in  length,  collected  for  the  TJ.  S.  Fish  Commission 
by  J.  Temple  Brown.) 


Fig.  15. 

SNOW  GOGGLES    WORN  BY  HUDSON  BAY  ESKIMO. 
Cat    No.  68141    U    S    N   M       Collected  liy  J   Temple  Brown. 

Ravenstein  mentions  opthalmia,  from  the  action  of  the  snow,  as  a  dire 
affliction  among  the  Goldi,  terminating  at  an  advanced  age  in  blindness.1 

The  visor  is  also  a  common  defense  for  the  eyes  on  land,  and  in  this 
capacity  attains  its  most  elaborate  development  in  medieval  armor. 
It  has  been  previously  said  that  in  hot  countries,  where  there  are  at 
least  twelve  hours  of  sunset  or  shadow  every  day,  most  peoples  take 
no  pains  to  shade  the  eyes.  The  fez,  the  turban,  and  the  bare  head 
are  in  vogue.  The  Laplander,  however,  wears  a  far- projecting  visor  on 

1  Cf.  "  Russians  ou  the  Amur,"  London,  1861,  p.  97. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  283 

his  cap.  So  does  tin-  Russian  and  so  do  most  Asiatics.  The  rim  of 
the  thousand  and  one  styles  of  hat  made  in  straw  and  palm  leaf  is 
partly  visor  for  the  eyes,  partly  sunshade,  and  partly  umbrella,  but 
always  the  utensil  of  the  traveler.  The  essential  part  of  the  snow 
goggles,  however,  is  the  provi^on  for  the  eyes  immediately.  In  a  great 
many  masks  throughout  the  world  there  are  little  holes,  narrow  slits, 
and  openings,  through  which  the  actor  may  peep.  In  the  same  manner 
the  goggles  will  be  found  divided  into  those  in  which  the  eye  peers  out 
through  a  slit  or  slits  and  those  in  which  it  looks  out  through  elliptical 
holes.  These  slits  and  holes  are  in  various  structural  relations  with 
the  visor,  giving  rise  to  many  local  types  of  apparatus  for  the  samo 
function.  The  climax  of  the  invention  in  cultured  areas  is  the  goggle 
with  colored  glasses.  Among  the  Tibetans  the  glare  of  the  sun  is  shut 
off'  by  means  of  a  silken,  network,  of  which  the  universal  veil  in  civil- 
ization is  a  refinement.  It- will  be  seen  also  that  the  Eskimo  has  some- 
where caught  the  notion  of  our  modern  wire  screen  over  the  eyes  of 
persons  suffering  with  inflammation  of  this  organ,  only  he  substitutes 
tubes  of  wood  for  the  wire  gauze  and  smoked  glass  for  the  refined 
colored  glass.  Beginning  with  the  purely  aboriginal  device  there  is  in 
the  U.  S.  National  Museum  collection  a  complete  series,  showing  the 
insinuation  of  civilized  ideas  ii.to  the  savage  mind. 

The  almost  universal  custom  is  to  blacken  the  inside  of  the  goggles 
to  further  exclude  the  glare  and  strong  reflection.  Where  this  is  not 
done  the  dark  color  of  old  wood  renders  it  unnecessary.  Some  of  the 
specimens  in  the  Museum  are  smoked,  many  are  rubbed  with  graphite, 
others  are  painted  black.  There  is  no  lack  of  modern  appliances,  since 
the  Eskimo  have  been  under  the  discipline  of  the  white  man  from  two 
to  nine  centuries. 

Bonvalot  figures  a  petty  chief  in  the  western  borders  of  Tibet  wear- 
ing snow  goggles  over  his  eyes.1  From  this  point  the  apparatus  may 
be  traced  eastward,  and  it  will  be  convenient  to  examine  first  the 
Asiatic  specimens  and  after  that  the  Eskimo  types,  in  order  to  note  the 
flourishing  of  varietal  changes  under  stress  of  material,  of  climate,  of 
ethnic  genius,  and  of  outside  influences. 

On  the  tundras  of  northeastern  Siberia  the  sun  of  spring,  reflecting 
from  the  glassy  surface  of  the  melting  snow,  almost  blinds  the  Korak 
drivers  of  the  dog  sledges.  They  can  not  wear  the  smoked  goggles  and 
watch  their  teams,  so  they  wear  strips  of  tin  perforated  with  small 
holes  or  having  long,  narrow  slits  cut  through  them,  while  others  are 
of  wood,  shaped  so  as  to  tit  the  upper  part  of  the  face,  through  which 
arc  cut  narrow  slits,  one  for  each  eye.2 

Hooper  states  that  no  kind  of  snow  goggles  or  spectacles  are  used  by 
the  Tuski  to  protect  the  eyes  from  the  glare  of  the  snow  in  springtime, 
for  the  people  suffer  dreadfully  from  snow-blindness  and  ophthalmia. 

1  "Across  Tibet,"  New  York,  1892,  Cassell,  p.  233. 

»Cf.  Bush,  "  Reindeer,  Dogs,  and  Suowulioes,"  New  York,  1891,  p.  349. 


284  REPORT   OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 

To  relieve  this  the  skin  on  the  temples  is  perforated  and  a  kind  of  seton 
is  inserted.1  The  snow  goggles  and  the  visor  are  both  known  in  that 
locality,  so  the  reason  for  not  wearing  them  is  to  be  sought  in  the 
demands  of  the  daily  life  in  spring. 

To  the  dress  of  the  men  (Chukchi),  says  Nbrdenskiold,  there  belongs 
a  screen  for  the  eyes,  which  is  often  beautifully  ornamented  with  beads 
ai'd  silver  mounting.  This  screen  is  worn  especially  in  spring  as  a  pro 
tection  from  the  strong  sunlight  reflected  from  the  snow  plains.2  At 
this  season  of  the  year  snow-blindness  is  very  common,  but  notwith- 
standing this,  snow  spectacles  of  the  kind  which  the  Eskimo  and  even 
the  Samoyeds  use  are  unknown  there.  The  various  kinds  of  goggles 
used  by  the  Eskimo  have  been  explained ;  but  Nordenskiold  describes 
neither  those  of  the  Chukchi  nor  those  of  the  Samoyeds. 

Parry  relates  that  the  affection  of  the  eyes,  known  by  the  name  of 
snow-blindness,  is  extremely  frequent  among  these  people  (Central 
Eskimo).  With  them  it  scarcely  ever  goes  beyond  painful  irritation, 
while  among  strangers  inflammation  is  sometimes  the  consequence.  I 
have  not  seen  them  use  any  other  remedy  besides  the  exclusion  of  light; 
but  as  a  preventive  a  wooden  eye  screen  is  worn,  very  simple  in  its  con- 
struction, consisting  of  a  curved  piece  of  wood  C  or  7  inches  long  and 
10  or  12  lines  broad.  It  is  tied  over  the  eyes  like  a  pair  of  spectacles, 
being  adapted  to  the  forehead  and  nose  and  hollowed  out  to  favor  the 
motion  of  the  eyelids.  A  few  rays  of  light  only  are  admitted  through  a 
narrow  slit  an  inch  long,  cut  opposite  to  each  eye.  This  contrivance  is 
more  simple  and  quite  as  efficient  as  the  more  heavy  one  possessed  by 
some  who  have  been  fortunate  enough  to  acquire  wood  for  the  purpose. 
This  is  merely  the  former  instrument,  complicated  by  the  addition  of  a 
horizontal  plate  projecting  3  or  4  inches  from  its  upper  rim  like  the  peak 
of  a  jockey's  cap.  In  Hudson  Strait  the  latter  is  common,  and  the  former 
in  Greenland,  where  also  we  are  told  they  wear  with  advantage  the 
simple  horizontal  peak  alone. '  It  will  be  noted  that  Parry  here  refers 
to  the  simple  visor,  the  simple  goggles,  and  a  mixed  type  in  which  the 
two  are  combined. 

As  with  other  classes  of  technical  apparatus,  so  with  the  goggles  or 
slit  eye  shade,  there  are  excellent  opportunities  of  studying  the  rela- 
tions of  invention  and  environment  among  the  divisions  of  the  self- 
same people.  For  the  purposes  of  comparison  the  same  regions  may 
be  marked  off  as  were  observed  with  the  ."  throwing  sticks,"4  to  wit, 
Greenland,  Labrador,  Cumberland  Gulf  and  Baffin  Land,  Mackenzie 
River  district,  Point  Barrow,  Kotzebue  Sound,  Bering  Strait  and 
vicinity,  Norton  Sound,  Yukon  River,  Nunivak,  Bristol  Bay,  Alaskan 
Peninsula  and  Kadiak,  and  other  localities. 

'Hooper,  "Tents  of  the  Tnski,"  London,  1853,  p.  185. 
-Nordenskiold :    "  Voyage  of  the  Vega,"  New  York,  1882,  p.  473. 
3Parry,  "Second  Voyage,"  London,  1824,  p.  547. 

'Mason,  "Throwing  Sticks  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,"  Rep.  Smithsonian  Inst. 
(U.  S.  Nat.  Mus.)  1884  (1885),  p.  279. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  285 

The  ('.  o.  National  Museum  possesses  three  examples  of  snow  gog- 
gles  from  East  Greenland,  numbers  It;  M.'W-'io.  Number  1089:t8  i-  ;i 
large,  plain  eye  shade  of  wood,  like  the  front  of  a  sailor's  cap.  Number 
1US939  is  a  hooded  eye  shade  made  by  attaching  a  deep  curtain  of  \vood 
to  the  border  of  a  visor.  The  example  here  mentioned  is  decorated 
with  a  large  number  of  strips  of  ivory  i»eggcd  on  in  shape  of  the  plu- 
mules on  a  feather.  Number  10X940  is  a  pair  of  tray-shaped  goggles 
whittled  out  with  a  metal  knife.  The  eyes  are  bulging  as  in  tig.  :>1.  All 
these  specimens  were  collected  by  Captain  G.  Holm,  of  the  Koyal  Danish 
Navy,  and  given  to  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  by  the  Ethnological 
Museum  of  Copenhagen.  In  pi.  xx  of  Holm's  "Kthnologisk  Ski/./e" 
will  be  seen  a  cap  made  of  unborn  seal  skin  and  one  of  fox  skin,  and 
each  of  these  has  a  visor,  the  former  of  rawhide,  the  latter  of  wood. 
Beneath  these  are  two  snow  goggles,  one  of  the  Bristol  Bay  type  hav- 
ing a  thick,  hollow  visor  with  an  elongated,  rectangular  wide  slit  in 
front  and  a  notch  for  the  nose.  The  other  has  two  lenticular  openings 
for  eye  slits,  a  nose  carved  in 
relief  between  the  eyes,  and  a 
nose  slit  on  the  lower  margin. 
These  examples  have  slight  re- 
lation with  the  Central  Eskimo 
type  in  which  goggles  and  visor 
are  combined  '  *te-  16- 

F.  Nansen  figures  an  old  man     K9KIMO  8NOW  QOQOLlt8  e°0Kui™BT'  rBOM 
at  Cape  Bille,  East  Greenland,  in  the  Museum  fur  vaikerkund.-,  it,-riin. 

wearing  snow  goggles,  a  simple     Fromt  ««»«»•  -n»  crntr.iF..k,mo,"byi»o«,s.itbA.nu.iKrp,,r. 

,    .         .  ^  ,  .  .  .  of  the  Bureau  ol  Ethno'.ocy, 

block  of  wood  with  one   long 

slit.2    TheKaiak  hat  of  this  old  man,  consisting  of  a  wooden  ring,  should 

also  be  noted. 

In  Holm's  pi.  xxxvr  are  two  visors  beautifully  ornamented  with  little 
Hat  ivory  figures  common  to  East  Greenland.  His  figure  .'i  is  a  hood 
for  the  face  fitting  against  the  forehead,  projecting  like  a  visor  from 
which  descends  perpendicularly,  a  wooden  curtain  covered  with  ivory 
ornaments.  This  curtained  visor  is  unique  so  far  as  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum  is  concerned.  If  in  any  other  museum  exist  like  forms  from 
other  areas  it  will  be  interesting  to  know  the  fact. 

Of  somewhat  similar  type  to  Holm's  tray-shaped  snow  goggles  is  an 
ivory  specimen  found  by  I>oas  in  Idjorituaqtuin,  Cumberland  Sound 
(fig.  16).  It  is  in  the  Museum  fur  Viilkerkunde,  Berlin,  and  has  the 
appearance  of  being  very  old.  It  is  suggestive  of  light  and  neatly  fin- 
ished specimens  from  Sledge  Island  southward,  but  there  is  no  intima 
tion  of  a  visor.  Attention  is  called,  however,  to  the  two  holes  bored 
above  the  eye  slits  in  precisely  the  spots  where  on  the  Bean  specimen 
from  ('ape  Lisbnrne  two  holes  are  utili/.ed  in  fastening  on  a  visor. 
Nordenskiold's  Port  Clarence  specimen  seems  to  ha\e  holes  for  the 


'<;.  Holm,  "  Kthnologisk  Skizxe,"  Copenhu^f-n.  1**7.  j.l.  \\. 
4  "Across  Greenland,"  London,  1890,  i,  p.  361. 


286 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


added  visor  in  the  same  spot.     But  the  little  openings  may  have  served 
as  ventilators. 

The  examples  of  snow  goggles  from  Fury  and  Hecla  Strait  in  the 
U.  S.  National  Museum  are  such  as  have  been  worn  by  white  men  or 
explorers.  The  one  here  figured  was  worn  by  Captain  Hall  in  his  Arctic 
explorations.  It  is  sharply  angular  in  outline,  as  if  made  by  machin- 
ery from  a  block  of  wood  2  inches  thick.  Especial  attention  is  called 
to  the  deep  excavations  for  the  eyes,  which  are  separated  by  an  equally 


Fig.  17. 

SNOW  GOGGLES  USED  BY  THE  ESKIMO  OF  FURY  AND  HECLA  STRAIT. 
Cat.  No.  10200,  IT.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Capt.  C.  F.  Hall 

deep  transverse  cut  for  the  nose.  The  eye  slits  are,  therefore,  entirely 
distinct  in  front  and  in  the  rear. 

In  front,  a  visor  projects  squarely  an  inch  over  the  eye  slits,  and  is 
flat  on  top.  The  goggles  are  fastened  on  the  head  by  a  band  of  soft  hide 
attached  at  the  ends  by  means  of  sinew  threads,  sewed  through  holes 
in  the  wood.  To  further  cut  off'  the  light,  the  eye  cavities  are  rubbed 
with  some  black  substance. 

The  specimen  here  figured  (fig.  17)  measures  5^  inches  in  length,  and 
is  to  be  seen  among  the  relics  of  the  Hall  expedition. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


287 


This  angular  form  constitutes  a  type  peculiar  to  the  central  region, 
where  for  centuries  whalers  have  congregated,  and  through  their 
trade  as  well  as  their  mechanic-ill  assistance,  profoundly  modified  the 
native  arts.  Similar  to  the  specimens  figured,  are  No.  10292,  collected 
by  Captain  Hall,  Nos.  29970-77-78,  gathered  in  Cumberland  Clulf  by 
Mintzer,  and  also,  though  much  ruder  and  newer  looking,  Nos.  9017l» 
to  90188,  from  Urigava,  north  of  Labrador,  collected  by  Mr.  Lucien 
M.  Turner. 

Captain  Hall's  collection  also  contains  a  specimen  of  the  same  gen- 
eral type  carved  from  oak,  but  there  is  no  information  concerning  the 


Fig.  18. 

SNOW  ffOOOLBS  USED  BY  THE  KSKIMO  OF  UNOAVA,  NOETHKBN  LABRADOR. 
fit.  No.  90188,  r.  8.  N.  M.     Collated  by  Lucira  M.  Turn-r 

carver.  The  wood  is  from  a  whale  ship.  The  visor  in  this  example  is 
not  flat  on  top  as  the  other,  but  slopes  downward  right  and  left 
from  the  middle.1  (Cat.  No.  10292,  U.  8.  N.  M.  Length,  5£  inches; 
height,  2£  inches.  Collected  in  Frobisher  Bay.)  Fran/  Boas  says  that 
the  natives  of  Cumberland  Gulf  always  use  snow  goggles  in  spring  to 
protect  them  from  snow  blindness.  In  describing  them  he  calls  the 
vizor-goggle  type  here  figured  the  modern  variety. 

Lucien  M.  Turner  brought  home  from  UngaVB  several  >pccimens  of 
snow  goggles  similar  to  those  shown  in  li»-.  is.    M  'at.  No.'.'ol  ^>.  I  .  S.  N.  M.) 


1  Cf.  Parry,  "Second  Voyage,'' p.  ~>47   and   platw  opposite  p.  ~>\*.  lijr.  -I,  and    plate 
opposite  p.  14;  Sixth  Ann.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  p.  ">7.r»,  fig.  529,  p.  576. 


288 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1894. 


Tlie  noticeable  characteristics  of  this  example  are  the  short  and  wide 
eye  slits  and  the  shape  of  the  visor,  which  is  straight  along  its  front 
border,  making  it  quite  shelving  at  its  outer  end  and  little  projecting 
over  the  nose.  There  are  buttons  or  knobs  at  the  ends  of  the  goggle 
for  the  strap  of  seal  hide  which  is  split  along  the  middle  so  that  one- 
half  may  pass  above  the  occiput  and  the  other  half  beneath  it.  These 
characteristics  of  the  split  headband  and  the  buttons  will  be  found 
elsewhere. 

Somewhat  similar  to  this  example  with  little  or  no  Visor  or  projec- 


Fig.  19. 

SNOW  GOGGLES  USED  SY  THE  ESKIMO  OP  CUMBERLAND  GULF. 
Cat.  No.  29978,  V.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  W.  A.  Mintier. 

tion  above  the  eyes  sire  Cat.  Nos.  90184,  90185,  U.  S.  N.  M.,  from  the 
same  area.     The  length  of  this  example  is  5£  inches. ' 

Nos.  29976-29978  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  are  from  Cumber- 
land Gulf,  and  conform  to  the  eastern  type  illustrated  in  the  fore- 
going figures.  The  only  characteristics  in  this  example  to  which 
attention  should  be  drawn  is  the  heavy  form  of  the  goggles,  the  cham- 
fered or  sloped  undersurface  of  the  visor,  and  the  additional  little 
string  between  the  two  back  portions  of  the  head  strap  to  prevent 
their  spreading  too  wide  apart.  Length,  5%  inches;  height,  If  inches. 
Collected  from  Niautilik  Eskimo,  by  W.  A.  Mintzer,  U.  S.  N.  (fig.  19). 


Cl'.  Eleventh  Ann.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  p.  222,  tigs.  46,  47. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


289 


In  regarding  the  relation  between  these  eastern  examples  and  the 
environment  it  is  well  to  put  them  into  comparison  with  another  appa- 
ratus in  the  same  region,  say  the  Ulu,  or  woman's  knife.  Turner's 
Uugava  ulus  look  like  harness  makers'  knives  made  and  riveted  in 
England  or  tlie  United  States.  The  other  Hudson  Bay,  Cumberland 
Gulf,  and  Fury  and  Hecla  pieces,  out  of  foreign  woods  remind  one  of 
the  patched  up  compound  bows,  the  poorly  hatted  ulus,  manufactured 
under  the  overshadowing  influence  of  the  whaler. 

Between  Fury  and  Heola  Strait  and  Cape  Bathurst,  just  east  of  the 
mouth  of  the  Macken/ie  is  a  region  unknown  to  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum.  Through  the  great  generosity  of  Messrs.  Robert  MacFarlaue, 


Fig.  20. 

SNOW  GOGGLES  USED  HY  THE  ESKIMO  OK  ANUKKSOV   KIVKR.  CANADA. 
(HI.  No.  KV).  U.  S.  V  M       Collected  by  R.  Mu  K«rl>nr. 

B.  H.  Ross,  C.  P.  Gaudet,  Robert  Kennicott,  and  others,  especially 
the  agents  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  the  Museum  possesses  rich 
treasures  from  the  Mackenzie  River  district. 

There  are  two  well-marked  types  of  goggles  collected  in  this  region, 
that  with  a  single  continuous  eye  slit  and  no  visor  and  that  with  two 
independent  disks.  Both  of  them  are  seen  elsewhere,  but  neither  of 
them  occurs  in  the  east,  so  far  as  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  collection 
goes.  The  former  is  just  as  rude  and  primitive  as  it  can  be;  the  latter 
is  seen  in  regions  easily  accessible  to  traders. 

No.  lO)  in  the  r.  S.  National  Museum  is  from  Anderson  River,  east 
of  Macken/ie  River  (tig.  L'O).  It  consists  of  a  loug  tray-shaped  block 
II.  Mis.  (H),  pt.  2 19 


290 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


of  wood,  red  on  the  outside  and  blackened  on  the  inside.  It  is  roughly 
blocked  out  to  fit  in  front  of  the  eyes  and  to  rest  on  the  bridge  of  the 
nose.  The  headband  is  a  broad  strip' of  dressed  skin  sewed  to  the  ends 
of  the  goggles.  Especially  should  the  student  notice  the  continuous 
slit,  for  it  is  rare  in  Alaska  on  eye  shades  north  of  the  Bristol  Bay 
region.  This  specimen  is  5£  inches  long,  was  made  by  the  Kopagmut, 
and  stands  for  the  tray-shaped  type  of  goggles  to  be  noticed  again. 

Example  No.  2167,  from  Anderson  River,  is  carved  in  the  shape  of  a 
trough,  neatly  polished,  shaved  out  on  the  lower  margin  to  fit  the  nose, 
but  furnished  with  two  loug  and  quite  neatly  cut  eye  slits.  The  head- 
band is  a  strip  of  dressed  hide.  Length,  5f  inches.  Gift  of  R.  Mac- 
Farlane. 

The  second  type,  first  appearing  in  the  Mackenzie  region  and  neigh- 
borhood going  westward,  is  shown  in  fig.  21.  The  apparatus  consists 
of  two  little  wooden  trays,  with  slits  across  their  bottoms,  attached 
to  each  other  by  being  sewed  upon  a  broad  strip  of  dressed  hide. 


Fig.  21. 

DOUBLE  SNOW  GOGGLES   USED  BY   THE   ESKIMO  OF  ANDERSON   RIVER,  CANADA. 
Cat.  No.  2147,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  R  MacFarlnne. 

To  the  ends  of  this  strip  are  attached  rawhide  strings  to  complete  the 
headband.  This  very  simple  device  will  reappear  farther  west  in  more 
elaborate  form,  and  attention  will  be  later  directed  to  the  incorpora- 
tion of  the  dish-like  eyepieces  into  goggles  made  of  one  piece.  Mr. 
MacFarlane  sent  also  from  Anderson  River  No.  1651,  a  visor  cut  out 
of  a  single  piece  of  wood.  In  the  Museum  collections  there  is  no  visor 
coming  from  Canada  east  of  the  Anderson  River.  But  the  East 
Greenland  specimens  shown  in  Holm's  plates  34-36  must  noc  be  over- 
looked. This  peculiar  type  abounds  about  Sledge  Island  (Aziak)  and 
the  Bering  Strait.  Length,  7  inches.  It  may  be  said  here  as  well  as 
elsewhere  th'at  other  collections  may  contain  different  types  from  the 
regions  named,  and  forms  like  the  one  just  described  may  have  been 
brought  from  Aziak  to  Anderson  River  in  trade.  The  author  can  give 
his  patient  care  only  to  reporting  things  as  they  are  represented. 

Captain  Herendeen,  an  experienced  whaler,  says  that  the  gog- 
gles with  separate  disks  are  to  be  seen  at  Point  Barrow.  This  is 
not  strange,  since  the  natives  know  their  relatives  at  the  Mackenzie 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


291 


mouth  and  trade  as  far  west  ;is  St.  Lawrence  Island.  The  Ray  party 
brought  to  .the  U.  S.  National  Museum  specimens  of  goggles  from  Point 
Barrow.  These  are  of  two  kinds,  the  elongated  dish-sha])ed  variety, 
and  a  form  soon  to  be  described  made  of  a  single  piece  but  suggestive 
of  the  style  consisting  of  two  disks. 

No.  89701  is  from  Point  Barrow  and  is  mentioned  by  John  Murdoch. 
Some  specimens  seen  by  him  are  of  wood,  and  he  describes  one  taken 
from  a  gravel  bed  27  feet  under  ground  in  the  process  of  sinking  a  shaft 
to  obtain  earth  temperatures.  Hut  the  example  here  figured  (fig.  22)  is 
of  antler  following  the  natural  curve,  divided  longitudinally,  with  the 
softer  tissue  hollowed  out.  Mr.  Murdoch  never  saw  an  example  of  this 
kind  in  actual  use.  It  was  obtained  from  a  native,  and  there  wa>  no 
account  of  it  given. 

The  second  variety  from  Point  Harrow,  described  by  Mr.  Murdoch, 


Fig.  22. 

OLD  SNOW  GOGOLBS  OF  ANTLER  USED  BY  THE  ESKIMO  OK  POINT  BABBOW,  ALASKA. 
Cut.  No.  89701,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collect.-.!  by  C.pu  P.  H.  Ray.  U.  S.  A. 

have  along  the  top  a  horizontal  brim  about  one-half  inch  high.  Above 
this  are  two  oblique  holes  opening  into  the  cavity  inside,  which  are 
for  the  purpose  of  ventilation  to  prevent  the  moisture  of  the  skin  from 
bring  deposited  as  frost  on  the  inside  of  the  goggles  or  eyelashes. 
Mr.  Murdoch  did  not  see  these  worn.  He  also  calls  attention  to  the 
appearance  of  airholes  in  specimens  from  Norton  Sound  and  Ungava, 
and  compares  the  visor  with  that  on  the  eastern  specimens'  (fig.  23). 

Follow  ing  up  the  single-slit  specimen  from  Anderson  River,  Dall  -eni 
to  Hi.  I  .  S.  National  Museum  from  Cape  Lisburne  (68°  50',  166°  NW.) 
wooden  goggles  (No.  4«>041)  with  a  continuous  aperture  for  vision.  It 
is  a  compromise  between  the  trough-shaped  northern  specimens  and  tin- 
hollo\\  visored  type  in  the  south.  Indeed,  it  is  a  good  example  of  the 
northern  double  visor,  with  wide  continuous  slit,  over  which  the  uppei 


Ninth  Ann.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  p.  262,  figs.  259-261. 


292 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 


side  of  the  visor  projects  a  little.    Sinew  cord  is  used  to  hold  the  appa- 
ratus on  the  head.     Collected  by  William  H.  Dall  and  S.  Bailey.     It 


Fig. 23. 

SNOW   GOGGLES   WITH   VENTILATORS   USED   BY  THE   ESKIMO   OF  POINT  BARROW,  ALASKA 

Cat.  No.  89703,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  t,y  Capt.  P.  H.  Ray,  U.  S.  A. 

is  of  wood,  and  measures  5|  inches  in  length  and  2|  in  height.    The 
Eskimo  at  this  point  are  called  Nunatogmut. 

Through  the  kindness  of  Lieut.  G.  M.  Stouey,  U.  S.  N.,  the  U".  S.  Na- 
tional Museum,  has  goggles  from  Kotzebue  Sound,  north  of  Bering 


Fig.  24. 
DOUBLE  SNOW  GOGGLES  USED  BY  THE  ESKIMO  OF    KOTZEBUE  SOUND,  ALASKA. 

C:ii.  N...  127907.  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collerte.l  by  Lieut.  G.  M.  Stiiney,  V.  S.  N. 

Strait,  No.  1137907.    They  consist  of  two  little  wooden  disks  or  ( rays,  ovai 
in'  outline,  with  rather  broad  eye  slits  (fig.  24).    These  trays  are  joined 


PRIMTTIYK    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


293 


together  neatly  by  means  of  six  strings  of  heads  sewed  into  tin*  margin 
of  the  disks  and  held  in  place  in  the  middle  by  tin-  threads  passing 
through  a  "spreader"  of  rawhide.  This  device  is  coininon  on  head  work 
farther  south.  The  headband  consists  of  sinew  yarn  and  t\vo  little 
thongs  of  rawhide  for  the  back  of  the  head. 

Example  No.  638*25  is  from  Point  Hope.     It  has  a  single  wide  slit 
between  a  visor-like  part  above  and  a  receding  portion  below,  on  the 
rear  of  which  the  notch  for  the  nose  is  cut.     The  specimen  is  in  essen 
tial  particulars  like  the  Cape  Lisburne  example,  No.  HUH  I. 

Passing  south  from  Kotzebue  Sound  to  Bering  Strait.  Diomede  Island, 
audCape  Prince  of  Wales,  the  r.S.National  Museum  does  not  possess  an 
aboriginal  specimen  of  goggles  from  this  area.  Instead,  Nelson  brought 
home  a  modern  adaptation  (tig.  2.~>).  It  consists  of  a  rectangular  block 
of  wood,  with  a  shallow  nose  slit  in  the  middle.  The  back  of  the  block 
is  gouged  out  roughly,  and  further  cut  ting  away  provides  two  elliptical 
eye  cavities.  In  front  of  the  block  is  a  rectangular  bit  of  canvas, 


Fig. 25. 

MODERN  SNOW  UOOOLES   KEOM   IHOMKDK  ISLAND,  BRBINO  STRAIT. 
Cat.  No.  636S6,  V.  S.  ti.  M.     Collected  by  K.  W.  NH«on. 

doubled  and  fitted  with  colored  glass  in  front  of  the  eyeholes  in  the 
wood.  It  is  raveled  around  the  edges  and  effectively  excludes  the 
light  and  air. 

This  is  an  interesting  specimen,  since  it  shows  how  thoroughly  the 
most  exposed  places  to  foreign  contact  exhibit  the  greatest  departure 
from  the  fundamental  or  primitive  forms.  The  specimen  tigured  is  No. 
r»;W26,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  and  measures  four  and  a  quarter  inches 
in  length. 

Just  south  of  Bering  Strait  is  Port  Clarence,  always  an  important 
location  in  Eskimo  life  and  now  the  point  at  which  the  United  States 
(lovernment  is  making  the  experiment  of  introducing  Siberian  reindeer 
into  Alaska.  From  this  locality,  through  the  kindness  of  Dr.  Tarleton 
II.  I  Jean,  the  U.S.  National  Museum  possesses  a  very  elaborate  <pecimen 
of  wood  carving  in  the  shape  of  snow  goggles,  No.  Kil.17.  The  frame- 
work isiu  three  pieces.  This  is  easily  accounted  for  since  Port  Clarence 
is  in  the  land  of  driftwood.  The  upper  and  lower  halves  ot  the  body 


294 


REPORT    OP    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


of  the  apparatus  ;ire  joined  by  means  of  neat  lashings  of  rawhide 
thong  and  strips  of  baleen.  The  visor  is  also  a  separate  piece  closely 
fitted  and  joined  in  the  same  manner.  The  especial  characteristic  of 
this  specimen  and  its  congeners  not  far  away  is  the  amount  of  carving 
in  the  round  in  front.  In  the  rear  the  deep  eye  and  nose  cavities  and 
in  front  the  visor  suggest  Eastern  examples.  But  the  last  named  are 
angular  and  do  not  reveal  the  countenance.  In  the  Port  Clarence  type 


Fig.  26. 

CAHVED  SNOW   OOGGLES   WITH   VENTILATORS   USED    RY   THK   ESKIMO   OF  PORT  CLARENCE,  ALASKA. 
Cm.  No.  46137,  U.  S.  N    M.     Collected  liy  Ur.  Tarleton  H.  Bean. 

every  unnecessary  scrap  of  wood  is  cut  away  outside  about  the  nose 
and  eyes.  The  effect  of  this  is  to  reduce  the  weight  and  to  give  the 
appearance  of  a  mask.  The  connection  of  the  whole  class  with  mask 
wearing  would  not  be  difficult  to  trace.  The  headband  consists  of  a 
single  string  back  of  the  head  to  which  double  strings  are  attached 
at  each  end  in  order  to  connect  with  the  wooden  frame.  This  speci- 
men was  worn  by  Dr.  Bean  in  his  Alaskan  explorations  for  the  U.  S. 
Fish  Commission  (tig.  26).  It  is  similar  in  typical  characteristics  to  a 


PRIMITIVE    TKAVEL    AND   TRANSPORTATION.  295 

number  of  specimens  in  the  K.  S.  National  Museum  collection  from  that 
point,  excepting  that  the  eye  slits  in  the  aboriginal  specimens  take  the 
place  of  the  glass.  It  should  be  also  noted  that  in  such  examples  this 
slit  though  continuous  in  front,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  Bean  specimen,  is 
not  continuous  in  the  rear,  being  interrupted  by  the  wood  that  forms  the 
nose  cavity.  Mr.  Tylor  would  say  that  this  groove  on  the  outside  across 
the  bridge  of  the  nose  is  a  survival  of  the  old  primitive  continuous  slit 
apparatus.  Certainly  it  performs  no  function  and  does  not  add  to  the 
beauty  of  the  specimen.  Similar  to  this  specimen  are  Nos.  45075,  45076, 
45077,  and  44769,  from  Sledge  Island  (A/iak),  a  little  southwest  of  Port 
Clarence,  sent  to  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  by  E.  W.  Nelson,  and  No. 
44257  from  Cape  Darby  on  the  northern  shore  of  Norton  Sound. 
From  Port  Clarence  southwestward  to  ('ape  Darby  is  a  continuous 
area.  The  specimen  here  figured  is  5£  inches  in  length. 

Example  No.  45080  is  from  Sledge  Island.  It  is  a  very  light  and 
neatly  made  specimen.  Its  characteristics  are  the  continuous  slit  in 
front,  interrupted  by  the  nose  portion  behind,  the  visor  having  a  grace- 
fully curved  surface  above,  the  outer  portion  carved  in  form  of  the  face. 
Length,  6  inches.  Collected  by  E.  W.  Nelson. 

Example  No.  45079,  also  from  Sledge  Island,  is  related  to  the  northern 
hooded  or  visored  type,  only  the  wide  eye  slit  is  continuous  and  the 
notch  for  the  nose  is  cut  from  the  lower  margin.  The  two  Sledge  Island 
specimens,  Nos.  45079  and  45080,  are  excellent  for  comparison.  The 
former  is  the  double- visored  type,  trough-like  and  deeply  hollowed  on  the 
back.  The  former  is  like  the  eastern  examples,  with  separate  eye  and 
nose  cavities  in  the  rear  and  the  eye  slits  only  seem  to  be  continuous 
in  front.  Length  of  the  former,  6  inches.  Collected  by  E.  W.  Nelson. 

Sledge  Island,  or  Aziak,  is  a  small  island  between  Port  Clarence  and 
Cape  Nome  (64°,  30',  168°  NW.).  Through  the  energy  of  the  indefati- 
gable collector,  E.  W.  Nelson,  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  is  rich  in 
specimens  from  this  region.  It  will  not  be  surprising  to  find  here  a 
complex  art,  since  this  little  projection  from  the  sea  is  a  middle  ground 
for  the  Norton  Sound,  also  from  Sledge  Island  and  Bering  Strait 
region. 

The  specimen  (fig.  27)  here  figured  (Cat,  No.  44768,  U.  S.  N.  M.)  is  very 
beautifully  finished  oft',  sandpapered  and  polished,  colored  red  on  the  out- 
side and  black  within,  as  most  examples  are.  The  specimen  suggests 
the  types  already  mentioned  at  the  north,  consisting  of  two  disks  like 
spoon  bowls  fastened  together,  this  time  not  by  beadwork  but  by  a 
narrow  bridge  of  wood.  The  eye  slits  are  wider  open  on  the  inner 
ends,  a  characteristic  quite  common.  Above  the  eye  slits  is  a  narrow 
visor  delicately  carved.  Length  of  specimen,  4£  inches. 

Example  No.  44349  is  a  visor  from  Norton  Bay  made  of  a  single  block 
of  spruce  wood  in  shape  of  the  front  of  a  seaman's  cap.  Similar  in 

form  is  No.  40309  IV 1'ort  Clarence,  collected  by  Dr.  Bean;  also,  Nos. 

4507 1 .  r.071',  45073,  and  45074,  from  Sledge  Island;  No.  44144  from  Cape 


296 


REPORT    OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 


Darby;  aud  No.  49068  from  Rasboiniksky  collected  by  E.  W.  Nelson 
This  type  of  eye  protectors  is  better  fitted  for  use  on  tbe  water. 
Similar  forms  occur  on  Norton  Sound  and  about  the  Alaskan  Penin- 
sula. The  Aleuts  wear  specimens  of  unusually  large  size,  and  there 
are  decorated  forms  used  also  in  their  ceremonial  performances. 
Length,  6  inches. 

From  St.  Lawrence  Island,  the  middle  ground  or  Cyprus  between  the 
American  and  the  Asiatic,  Eskimo  area,  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  pos- 
sesses a  specimen  of  the  dish  shaped  goggles,  No.  G3269,  in  which  the 
continuous  slit  does  not  appear,  but  has  been  replaced  by  two  irregu- 


Fig.27. 

SNOW  GOGGLES  FBOM  SLEDGE  ISLAND,  ALASKA. 
Cat.  No.  44768,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  E.  W.  Nelson. 

larly  cut  holes  for  the  insertion  of  smoked  or  colored  glass.  Collected 
from  the  Kikhtogamut  Eskimo  by  E.  W.  Nelson ;  length,  o£  inches.  It 
is  not  to  be  supposed  that  this  aberrant  specimen  exhausts  the  native 
ingenuity  on  St.  Lawrence  Island.  The  smooth  finish  of  the  object,  its 
normal  shape,  the  holes  for  the  headband,  and  the  thong  are  entirely 
Eskimo.  Even  the  little  knot  shown  on  the  left  of  the  bottom  figure 
(fig.  28)  is  thoroughly  savage,  being  made  by  cutting  a  slit  in  a  thong 
half  an  inch  from  the  end  and  then  thrusting  the  end  through  the  slit. 
It  may  be  seen  in  many  Eskimo  implements  where  a  button  or  toggle  is 
needed  to  fit  into  a  countersink  in  wood  or  ivory.  But  the  eyeholes  are 
bungling  afterthoughts,  many  of  which  appear  on  Eskimo  articles  traded 
to  the  whites. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


297 


Cape  Nome,  just  southeast  of  Sledge  Island,  should  be  represented 
in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  collections,  but  unfortunately  it  is  not.  A 
creditable  number  of  specimens,  however,  come  from  Cape  Darby  at 
the  entrance  of  Golovina  Sound  and  Bay  (54°,  20',  163°  NW.). 

Example  No.  44256  is  from  Cape  Darby.  Carved  front  and  rear  and 
resembling  a  masquerader's  disguise,  fitting  tin-  lace  neatly  behind 
and  cut  away  to  a  parallel  surface  in  front.  Over  the  eye  slits  is  a  visor 
three- fourths  of  an  inch  wide,  which  is  not  flat  on  top  in  this  or  any 
related  specimens,  as  we  have  in  the  eastern  type,  but  sloped  up  by  a 


Fig.  28. 

ESKIMO  SNOW  GOGGLES  FOR  COLORED  GLASS,  ST.  LAWRENCE  ISLAND,  ALASKA. 
C»u  No.  63469,  V.  8.  N.  M.     Collected  by  E   W.  Nelion. 

curved  surface  to  follow  the  lines  of  the  eyebrows.     Length,  6£  inches. 
Collected  by  E.  W.  Nelson. 

Norton  Bay  is  in  the  northeast  corner  of  Norton  Sound.  From  this 
area  comes,  through  E.  W.  Nelson,  another  set  of  goggles,  No.  43921), 
of  two  separate  disks.  Two  oval  plates  or  trays  of  wood  fit  over  the 
eyes  with  narrow  aperture  for  vision.  These  are  connected  by  means 
of  three  short  sinew  strings  or  cords.  Length,  b'^  inches.  Made  and 
used  by  the  Kaviagmut.  In  another  specimen,  No.  44.'{L".t.  the  disks  for 
the  eyes  are  connected  by  a  bridge  of  wood.  The  object  is  neatly  carved 
and  so  symmetrical  that  it  may  be  used  either  side  up.  It  should  be 
compared  with  No.  1050,  from  Anderson  Hiver  and  figures  24  and  27. 


298 


REPORT    OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


From  the  same  area  Nelson  procured  the  specimen  No.  44340  (fig.  29a), 
one  of  a  series  of  plain  visors  like  that  on  the  front  of  a  cap.  From  this 
point  to  Kadiak,  south  of  Aliaska  or  the  Alaskan  peninsula,  the  visor 
becomes  larger  and  larger  until  it  entirely  covers  the  head  like  a  hat 
and  extends  in  front  6  or  more  inches.  In  fact  this  sort  of  visor  is  in 
that  area  an  equipment  of  the  mariner,  and  will  be  more  properly  con- 


b  c 

Fig.  29. 

(«)    HUNTING   VISOR  USED   BY   THE   ESKIMO   OF  NORTON   BAY,  ALASKA.      Collected  by  E.  "W.  Nelson. 

(6)    OOGGLE  AND   EVE  SHADE  MADE   OF  THE   SKIN   OK   A   RINGED  SEAL'S  HEAD    (PHOCA  FCETIDA).      Gift  of. 

R.  MacFarlane. 

(C)    EYE  SHADE  OF  CARVED  WOOD  USED  BY  THE  ESKIMO  OF  ANDERSON  RIVER.  MACKENZIE  RIVER  DISTRICT, 

CANADA.     Gift  of  R.  MacFarlane. 

Cut.  Nos.  44349,  7733,  and  1651,  1.'.  S.  N    M 

sidered  in  the  chapter  on  aboriginal  water  travel.    The  specimen  is 
engraved  with  geometric,  lines. 

With  this  visor  must  be  compared  a  specimen  from  Anderson  River, 
No.  7733,  made  of  the  skin  from  the  face  of  a  seal  with  the  hair  on,  the 
eyeholes  fitting  over  the  man's  eyes.  This  again  leads  up  to  the  decora- 
tion upon  No.  1051,  TJ.  S.  National  Museum,  which  is  a  visor  of  pine 
wood,  upon  the  front  of  which  the  wearer  has  painted  in  blue  lines  the 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


299 


countenance  of  tin*  seal.     Tin-  specimens  here  shown  (Jig. '_'9/>  ;in<l  c\  Are 
the  pif't  of  \i.  MacFarlane. 

As  one  might  imagine,  the  greatest  variety  of  goggles  are  received 
from  St.  Michaels  and  Norton  Sound.  No  lessons  in  geographic  dis- 
trilmtion  are  to  be  drawn  from  these  ott'hand.  For  tin-  past  one  hun- 
dred years  and  more  this  region  has  been  the  entrepot  «>t  Russian  and 
Federal  occupation.  Hereabout  the  cunning  natives  early  became 
acquainted  with  steel  knives,  hammers,  saws,  tiles,  and  boring  tools, 
and  here  their  creative  and  adaptive  minds  were  first  cxeitcd  and 
modified  by  seeing  new  objects  and  forms  to  copy.  Turner,  Nelson, 
and  others  have  sent  to  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  pretty  specimens 


Fig.  .'10. 

KSKIMo  SN(iW  OtXiOLES   WITH   VENTILATORS    .NORTON  rtOl'ND,  ALASKA 
Cat.  No.  3»«,  f .  S.  N.  M.     Collected  \>i  E    W.  Hrltan. 

of  goggles,  consisting  of  two  disks  united  by  means  of  bead  work,  No. 
24339.  Leather  thongs  also  replace  the  bead  work  as  in  No.  i'4<»s<;,  made 
by  the  Unaligmut  on  St.  Michaels.  Length,  <>  inches.  By  the  first 
named  collector  was  secured  a  specimen  on  the  same  order,  in  which  a 
narrow  bridge  of  wood  replaces  the  beadwork.  In  this  specimen  there 
is  also  a  projecting  ledge  across  the  front  above  the  eye  slits.  Length, 
.">',  inches,  Unaligmut.  Nelson  also  contributes  a  double  specimen  from 
the  Unaligmut,  No.  32944.  The  specimen  from  Norton  Sound,  No. 
32942  (fig.  30),  is  worthy  of  special  study  MI  relation  to  this  area  as  the 
southern  limit  of  certain  types.  There  are  in  it  suggestions  of  the  elon- 
gated dish  or  tray  shaped  body  of  the  extreme  north,  of  the  two  trays 


300  REPORT    OF   NATIONAL  MUSEUM,  1894. 

fastened  together  by  means  of  beadwork,  of  the  separate  eye  cavities 
and  notch  for  the  nose,  of  the  narrow  ridge  or  visor,  and  especially  to 
be  noted  is  the  occurrence  of  neatly  cut  notches  above  the  eyes,  appar- 
ently for'ventilation.  It  is  a  very  daintily  made  specimen.  No.  24340, 
from  Uualakleet,  resembles  in  front  this  example,  the  cavities  are  deeper 
in  the  rear,  and  there  are  no  notches  for  ventilation.  No.  32948  has  also 
separate  eye  and  nose  excavations,  but  in  front  the  visor  is  flat  and  the 
eye  slits  are  similar  to  those  farther  north.  Length,  5  inches. 

Example  No.  24341  is  from  Norton  Sound,  and  is  a  mixture  of  the 
Sledge  Island  example,  with  the  quasi  continuous  eye  slit,  and  the 
northern  example,  with  disk  like  eyepieces.  This  specimen  has  a  hood 
or  visor  over  the  eye  slits,  and  is  also  remarkable  for  the  projection  or 
sharp  curve  outward,  as  much  as  2J  inches.  Length,  5£  inches. 

Example  No.  5581,  from  the  Yukon  River,  is  trough-shaped,  much 
curved  outward,  having  no  projections  or  decorations,  and  one  contin- 
uous eye  slit.  Collected  in  1868  by  William  H.  Dall.  This  example  is 
as  primitive  in  form  as  those  made  from  antler  above  mentioned  by 
Murdoch.  Length,  7  inches. 

Example  No.  5579,  from  Yukon  River,  in  fundamental  form,  like  No. 
5581,  but  notches  for  the  nose  above  and  below  and  a  slight  hood  over 
the  two  eye  slits  give  variety  to  the  form.  A  slight  furrow  connects 
the  eye  slits  in  front,  as  in  No.  45080.  Length,  5£  inches.  Collected 
by  William  H.  Dall. 

Example  No.  44328  is  cut  from  a  single  piece  in  form  of  two  disks  or 
dishes,  connected  by  the  nose  piece.  The  slits  are  precisely  along  a 
median  line,  so  that  the  apparatus  could  be  reversed.  The  head  string 
is  of  twisted  sinew.  Length,  5£  inches.  Collected  by  E.  W.  Nelson. 

Example  No.  72906,  from  the  Lower  Yukon,  is  cut  out  of  a  single  piece 
of  wood  in  general  form  of  the  Kuskokwiui  specimen.  The  comparison 
ends  there,  for  in  the  piece  here  described  the  block  is  hollowed  out 
interiorly,  a  notch  cut  for  the  nose,  and  a  long,  wide  slit  with  square 
ends  separates  the  upper  from  the  lower  margin.  The  former  does  not 
project  in  the  least.  Length,  7£  inches.  Collected  by  E.  W.  Nelson. 

Example  No.  44330  is  also  a  pair  of  goggles  of  two  separate  dish- 
like  eye  covers,  united  by  means  of  sinew  thread,  decked  with  red  and 
white  beads.  This  is  a  very  pretty  specimen  and  has  seen  much  use. 

Example  No.  43929,  from  Yukon  River,  is  made  of  two  oval  dish  like 
pieces,  with  narrow  eye  slits  in  the  bottoms,  and  fastened  together  by 
means  of  sinew  twine;  the  headband  of  hide  thong  doubled.  These 
and  others  of  the  same  type  are  neatly  made,  and  cut  away  very  thin 
just  behind  the  eye  slit.  Length,  6£  inches.  Collected  by  E.  W.  Nelson. 

Example  No.  30351  (fig.  31)  is  lorgnette  shaped  and  was  brought  from 
Kushunuk,  Bristol  bay.  The  place  where  it  was  worn  is  unknown.  A 
piece  of  wood  is  deeply  hollowed  in  the  rear  so  as  to  form  two  prolonged 
tubes.  In  front  the  wood  is  cut  away  in  shape  of  the  interior,  and  large 
openings  are  left  for  vision  or  for  smoked  glass.  Collected  by  E.  W. 
Nelson. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AXD    TRANSPORTATION. 


301 


On  the  Lower  Yukor.  River,  in  tin-  delta  that  forms  the  southern 
boundary  of  Norton  Sound,  reappears  a  type  of  goggle  described  from 
Sledge  Island,  No.  48724,  U.  S.  National  Museum.  That  is,  the  eye 
slit  is  uninterrupted  in  front,  bu.  across  the  nose  it  is  cut  in  only 
one-eighth  of  an  inch  and  there  is  interrupted  in  the  rear  by  the  piece 
that  forms  the  bridge  of  the  nose.  With  this  should  be  compared 
No.  38251,  both  collected  by  E.  W.  Nelson.  Length,  <!  and  <5£  inches. 
From  the  Ekogmut  Eskimo. 

In  addition  to  this  marked  type  Nelson  semis  from  the  Yukon  other 
patterns  varying  away  from  it  into  single  slit  forms;  those  in  which 
the  mask  feature  is  suggested  and  rude  pieces  of  degenerate  style.  In 
the  Museum  of  Natural  History,  New  York,  Mr.  Saville  reports  the 
three  varieties  from  Norton  Sound  and  Lower  Yukon  area,  namely,  two 
separate  disks  (No.  287,  Emmons);  solid  block  with  slits  or  glass 
(Emmons  49297,  49430,  and  Terry,  22247  and  22248);  and  visor  or  hood 


Fig  31. 

VIHOK  SNOW  liOiiiil.Ks  USED  BY  THE  ESKIMO  "F  KUSHfNUK.  ALASKA 
Cat.  No.  SR3.M.  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  \,j  F..  W   Nelton 

(Kinmons,  39,  47,  52,  53,  148,  455).     Some  new  special  features  are  pre- 
sented by  the  New  York  pieces. 

So  far  as  the  true  goggles  with  narrow  eye  slit  are  concerned,  the 
apparatus  is  not  represented  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  south  of 
the  Yukon  mouth.  Dall  brought  no  specimens  from  the  Nnnivak  and 
Nelson  Island  region.  The  next  specimen  southward  in  the  U.  S. 
National  Museum  collection  is  from  the  Kuskokwim  region,  carved  out 
of  a  single  piece,  of  wood  and  strongly  suggestive  of  the  project  ing 
shades  made  of  wire  gau/e  worn  in  civili/ed  communities  hy  persons 
suffering  with  weak  eyes,  as  in  example  3G351.  The  specimen  is  quite 
raaskoid,  with  huge  eyebrows,  and  deep  cut  cavities.  The  whole  is 
trimmed  away  in  front  to  make  the  apparatus  lighter  to  the  wearer. 
Length,  <>  inches.  Collected  from  the  Eskimo  of  Kushmmk.  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Kuskokwim  Ifiver,  by  K.  W.  Nelson.  There  is  no  evi- 
dence of  glass  having  been  used  on  this  specimen.  The  long  tultes  in 
front  of  the  eyes  are  blackened. 


302 


REPORT   OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 


Lately,  Mr.  I.  C.  Russell,  of  the  International  Boundary  Survey 
between  Alaska  and  Canada,  brought  to  the  U.  S.  National  Museum 
two  pairs  of  goggles,  No.  153427,  from  the  Athapascan  tribes  on  the 
upper  Yukon.  They  are  evidently  birch-bark  makeshifts  on  the  sugges- 
tion of  the  double  goggles  of  the  northern  area.  P^ach  specimen  is  made 
of  two  "pill  boxes,"  of  birch  bark  with  diamond-shaped  holes  cut  in  the 
bottoms.  These  are  joined  together  by  a  strip  of  birch  bark  sewed  on. 
Following  up  the  idea  that  the  Kuskokwim  specimen  was  not  designed 
for  glass,  the  student  comes  to  the  typical  Bristol  Bay  eye-shade  (Ihug- 
ach-shu-duk).  On  top  this  apparatus  is  no  more  nor  less  than  a  com- 
mon visor,  seen  all  about  Bering  Sea  and  over  the  northern  arctic  zone, 
where  wood  abounds.  If  a  visor  an  inch  thick  were  hollowed  out,  cut 
away  a  little  for  the  nose  in  one  place,  pared  away  on  its  under  edge  in 
front,  blackened  on  the  inside,  that  would  be  the  double  visored  eye 

shade  or  goggles  of 
Bristol  Bay.  The 
figure  here  given  is 
of  No.  127781  (fig. 
32),  collected  by  W. 
J.  Fisher.  The  U. 
S.  National  Museum 
contains  a  great  va- 
riety of  this  type. 
With  this  example 
should  be  compared 
No.  55930  collected 
by  C.L.  McKay,  Nos. 
127477  and  127478 
from  Togiak  River, 
collected  by  Apple- 
The  last  named  is  an 
Length  of  figure, 


Fig.  32. 

VI8OE  SNOW  GOGGLES  FROM  KUSKINAK,  ALASKA. 
Cat.  No.  127781,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Vm.  J.  Fisher. 


gate,  and  No.  7251 5  collected  by  W.  J.  Fisher, 
oddity,  and  is  probably  of  very  modern  manufacture. 
5£  inches. 

Example  No.  55930  from  Bristol  Bay  is  in  effect  a  typical  double  visor 
or  a  thick  visor  mortised  through  and  painted  black  inside,  the  lower 
margin  cut  to  tit  the  nose.  In  front  the  apparatus  looks  like  the 
slightly  opened  mouth  of  a  big  fish.  Most  of  the  visor-like  goggles 
are  fastened  with  rawhide  thongs.  Length,  6  inches.  Collected  by 
C.  L.  McKay. 

The  accompanying  illustrations  (figs.  33  and  34)  exhibit  the  structure 
of  the  double  visor  or  elongated  goggles.  It  is  here  recalled  that  at 
the  extreme  north  this  form  does  not  occur,  owing  to  absence  of  wood, 
and  that  at  the  extreme  south  the  goggles  with  slits  for  the  eyes  are 
not  to  be  found. 

Indeed,  while  the  goggles,  the  visor,  and  the  double  visor  are  all  to 
be  worn  on  the  eyes,  the  first-named  is  to  prevent  ophthalmia  in  the 
hunter  walking  over  the  snow. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


303 


The  second  is  the  Arctic  form  of  the  universal  sunshade,  hat  brim, 
eye  shade,  having  a  different  technical  treatment  for  every  people  and 
culture  region. 

The  third  is  this  likewise,  and  by  its  lower  shelf  is  also  ad«'vic»>  tor  look 
ing  a  long  way  down  into  the  water.  Many  of  Holm's  Kast  dreonhiml 
specimens  having  a  visor  top, 
and  a  deep  curtain  of  wood 
around  the  margin  enables  a 
hunter  lying  on  his  stomach 
on  the  ice  to  see  far  down  into 
the  water  and  to  guide  the 
long-handled  harpoon  held  by 
his  companion.  The  wearers 
of  the  western  examples  are 
kaiak  people  who  hunt  their 
game  with  bladder  harpoons, 
and  it  is  essential  that  they 
should  be  able  to  follow  them 
with  the  eye.  Our  modern 
deep  sea  fishermen  use  a  com-  rig.  33. 

moil    bucket    With    a  pane    of     VISOR  SNOW  GOGGLES  USED  BY  THE  ESKIMO  or  BRISTOL 

glass  in  the  bottom  for  look-  BAT-  ALASKA- 

j  .      ,          ,  ,  C»t  No.  1Z77M,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Wm.  J.  Fuber. 

ing  down  into  the  ocean. 
The  Aleut  dress  according  to  Strong  was  similar  to  that  of  the  Koni- 

agas,  with  the  addition  of  a  high  peaked  hat  made  of  wood  or  leather. 

This  hat  had  a  long  brim  in  front  to  protect  the  eyes  of  the  wearer  from 

the  glare  of  the  sun  upon  the  water  and  snow,  and  was  ornamented  at 

the  back  by  hanging  upon  it  the  beards  of  sea  lions.    The  front  was 

usually  carved  to  represent 
some  animal  and  the  surface 
was  overlaid  wit  h  ivory  carv- 
ings. ' 

Nansen  recommends  the 
common  goggles  with  slits, 
but  objects  that  the  snow 
shoer  should  be  able  to  look 
vertically  as  well  as  hori/on- 
tally;  but  C.  W.  Reining 
ton  figures  a  set  of  native 
snow  goggles  of  the  Barren 

Ground,  in  which  M  narrow  T-shaped  slit  admits  of  both  hori/ontal  and 

vertical  sight.  2 

From  Fort  Mall.  Idaho,  the  U.  8.  National  Museum  possesses  another 


Fin.  34. 
VISOR  SNOW  (JOOGLK.-  1'sKH   H\    I II K  ESKIMO  OK  BRISTOL  BAV 

(-IDE   VIEW). 
Pat.  Nn   12T7H4.  r.  >.  N    M.      Collected  by  Wm.  .1.  Fi«h«-r. 


'Strong.  ••  Wiili-kfc-iiah  ami  Her  People."  NV\\   Yurk.  1X!W.  Putnam,  |».  101. 
•'  HIM-JMT'S  M:rfj:i/inr,  1>M.\  M  n.  ji.  •_'•;.  :nnl   K.  Nansou's  "First  Crossing  of  Green- 
land," London,  1890,  i,  p.  50. 


304 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 


aberrant  specimen  of  snow  goggle  or  eye  shade,  No.  153545,  collected 
by  Mr.  Dahilson  (fig.  35).  This  specimen  is  said  to  have  been  used  by 
the  Shoshones  and  Bannocks,  who  belong  to  the  great  Uto-Aztecan 
family;  but  the  apparatus  is  made  from  harness  leather,  punched  with 
a  steel  punch,  cut  out  with  a  keen  steel  knife,  and  held  on  with  worsted 
braid.  The  adjustable  shutter  is  also  a  device  somewhat  above  any- 


Fig.  35. 

SNOW  OOOQLES  USED  BY  THE  BANNOCK  AND  SHOSHONE  INDIANS  OF  IDAHO. 
Cat.  No.  153M5.  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by\V.  H.  Damlson. 

thing  in  the  way  of  eye  screens  exhibited  by  savagery.  It  serves  the 
purpose  of  emphasizing  what  has  been  many  times  repeated  by  the 
present  writer,  that  civilization  modifies  the  working  principles  of  sav 
agery.  This  specimen  furnishes  a  fitting  close  to  the  study  of  an  imple- 
ment that  the  whalers  and  fur  hunters  modified  and  carried  from  place 
to  place.  Local  forms  are  not  nearly  so  fixed  as  those  of  the  throwing 
stick. 

EVE  SHADES  AND  SNOW  GOGGLES  IN  THE  U,  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

168938 

Large  wooden  eye  shade  plain  

East  Greenland  

Captain  G.  Holm. 

1  68939 

do 

Do 

168940 

90176-90188 
10292 

Tray-shaped,   triangular   eyeholes, 
large. 
Angular  type,  more  or  less  visor  

do  
Ungava  

Do. 

L.  M.  Turner. 
Capt.  C.  F.  Hall 

29976-29978 

W.  A  Mintzer 

68141 
10200 
2167 

Ko  visor,  machine  made  
Angular  type,  flat  visor  
Plain  tray  shape  two  slits  

Hudson  Bay  
Fur  y  Strait  
Anderson  River  

J.  T.  Brown. 
Capt,  C.  F.  Hall. 
R.  MacFarlane. 

1650 

do           

Do 

1651 

do 

Do 

2147 

Two  small  separate  disks  

..    do  

Do 

7733 

Visor  and  goggle  skin  of  seal's  head 

do 

Do 

7478-7479 

Do 

89701-89702 

Tray  shape  two  slits,  antler  

P.  H.  Ray,  U.S.  A. 

89703 

do 

Do 

89894 

Goggles  from  gravel  bed  

.      do  

Do. 

46041 
63825 

Double  visor,  ventilators  
Tray  shape,  single  slit,  visor  

Cape  Lisburne  
Point  Hope  

W.  H.  Da!l. 
E.  W.  Nelson. 

PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL   AND    TRANSPORTATION.  305 

EYE  SHADES  AND  SNOW  GOGGLES  IN  THE  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MTSEUM — Continued. 


Museum 
nnmber. 

Specimen. 

Localily. 

By  whom  contributed. 

127907 
63626 
63269 
46309 

Two  ovate  disks  separate  
Wood,  canvas  cover,  glass  eyes  
Dish  -shaped,  eyeholes  for  glass  
Large  visor  

Kotzebue  Sound  .  .  .  
Diomede  Island  
St.  Lawrence  Island  
Port  Clarence 

G.  M.  Stoney.T.  S.N. 
K.  W.  Nelson. 
Do. 
T  H  Bean 

46191 

Maskoid  type,  glass  eyes  

do.... 

Do 

46137 

do  

do 

Do 

45071-45074 

Large,  plain  visors  

Sledge  Island 

45075-45077 

Maskoid  with  visor  

do  

Do 

45078 

Maskoid,  visor,  ventilators  

do  

Do 

45079 

Double  visor  like,  single  slit  

do 

Do 

45080 

Tray  shape,  visor  

do  

Do 

44768 

Two  disks  and  visor  in  one  piece  — 

do  

Do 

44769 

Sledge  Island  ty  pe  

do  

Do 

44144 

Plain  visor  

Cape  Darby 

Do 

44256 

Maskoid,  visor,  Sledge  tvpe  

do  

Do 

44257 

do  

do  

Do 

44329 

Tray  shape,  one  slit,  reversible  

do  

Do 

44328 

Double  disk,  slits  in  visor  

Norton  Bay  

Do 

44330 

Two  separate  disks  

do  

Do 

44349 

Plain  visor  

do...  . 

Do 

24339 

1  nalnkli  t  t 

24340 

United  disks  

do  

Do 

43929 

Separate  disks  

Norton  Sound 

24341 

Double  disk  and  visor  

do  

Do 

24686 

Two  separate  disks  

do  

L  M   Turner 

33136 

do  

E  W  Xelson 

33137 

Visor  and  headband  

do  

Do 

32942  32944 

Double  disk,  single  slit,  air  holes.  .  .  . 

do  

Do 

32943 

Trav  shaped,  slight  visor  

do  

Do 

37351-37353 

do    

Do 

37619 

Plain  visor  

do  

Do 

49102 

Visor  and  headband  

Pastolik  

Do 

48684 

St  Michaels 

Do 

153784 

do  

..      do     

J.  H  Turner 

5581 

Plain  tray,  single  slit  

Yukon  River  

J.  Y.  Dyer 

5579 

Maskoid  Sledge  Island  type 

W  H  Dall 

11441 

Visor  

Lower  Yukon  .  .  . 

Do 

38251 
38329 

Slightly  maskoid,  two  slits  
Visor  

do  
.do  

E.  W.  Nelson  . 
Do 

38704 

Tray  shape,  one  slit  visor  

do  

Do. 

38710-38712 

Visor  and  headband  

do  

Do. 

38837 

do  

Do 

38658 

do  

Do 

48724 

do  

Do. 

48996 

Maskoid,  no  visor  

Sabotn  isky  

Do. 

49068 
72906 

Visor  and  headband  

Ka.sboi  in  ksk  v  
Lower  Yukon  

Do. 

Do. 

16221 
38659 

Visor  and  headband  

Nunivak  
Kuskokwim  

W.  H.  Dall. 

K.  W.  Nelson. 

55930  55931 

Bristol  Bay  

('.  L.  McKav 

36351  3635° 

£  W  Nelson 

37351 

do  

Do. 

36404 

Conical  viso"  hat,  ornament  

do  

Do. 

Min    00    i»r    *>           20 

306  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

EYE  SHADES  AND  SNOW  GOGGLES  IN  THE  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM — Continued. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

38713-38718 

Visor  hats,  plain  

do  

E.  W  Nelson 

127477  127478 

90444 

Conical  visor  hat,  ornament  

Kadiak    ... 

W  J  Fisher 

72515 

do 

Do 

74720 

Conical  visor  hat  

do  

Do 

127780  127781 

Double  visor   

Kuskinak. 

Do 

72515 

Do 

1131 

Capt  Bulkley  USA 

5772 

Painted  visor  hat  

do  

Capt  W  A  Howard 

11377 

...  do      

do         

154073 

do                                    

.  do 

153427 

Birch  -bark  spectacles.  2  pairs  

Upper  Yukon  

I  C.  Russell. 

22286 
131053 

Goggles  from  harness  leather  

Fort  Hall,  Idaho  
Northeast  Tibet 

W  H  Danilson 
W  W  Rockhill 

167159 

Eye  shades  and  case  

Lhasa  

Do 

FOOT  WEAR  USED   IN   TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION. 

Among  the  five  typical  classes  of  industries  (page  237)  the  barefooted 
man  and  woman  are  common  in  the  first  two  and  the  last  two.  The  shoe 
is  especially  an  accessory  of  travel;  it  belongs  to  the  road.  Even  now- 
adays men  wear  their  shoes  to  the  field  and  work  fn  the  field  bare- 
footed. The  same  is  true  of  women  in  all  their  drudgeries.  Barefooted 
men  and  women  are  glorified  in  art,  and  in  old  religions  both  priest 
and  worshiper  remove  the  shoes.  Ratzel  has  also  noticed  that  sandals 
are  rather  peculiar  to  the  road,  and  thinks  they  are  more  commonly 
made  of  hide  than  of  wood  or  bast.  He  also  calls  attention  to  their 
wide  extent.1 

Locations  will  be  found  where  the  traveling  class  are  barefooted,  but 
a  close  inspection  of  them  will  show  that  the  people  are  maritime  or 
that  the  climate  is  opposed  to  clothing  the  feet.  Furthermore,  it  is 
difficult  and  seems  useless  to  make  the  foot  a  decorative  part  of  the 
body.  Unclothed  the  foot  is  usually  plain. 

Bush  speaks  of  Giliaks  whom  he  met  as  far  north  as  the  Amur 
mouth  with  naked  feet  and  legs  in  September.2  They  wandered  over 
the  jagged  stones  on  the  beach  as  though  their  feet  were  soled  with 
iron,  while  the  cold  seemed  to  have  no  effect  upon  them  whatever. 
Upon  a  stump  of  driftwood  6  feet  long,  six  of  them  sat  with  their  feet 
drawn  up  under  their  bodies.  But  when  these  same  people  go  away 
from  home,  they  and  all  other  hyperboreans  exhaust  their  ingenuity  on 
foot  wear  and  foot  gear.  It  is  said  that  in  southern  China  the  chil- 
dren's feet  are  seared  to  harden  them.3 


1 "  Volkerkunde,"  Leipzig,  1887,  i,  p.  67. 

2  "  Reindeer,  Dogs,  and  Snowshoes,"  pp.  81  and  104. 

3  Chinese  Repository,  Canton,  1833,  i,  p.  29. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  307 

As  previously  mentioned  the  anatomy  of  the  foot  has  excited  some 
attention,  but  it  is  a  wonder  that  no  one  has  dwelt  upon  the  foot  as  an 
instrument  of  human  industry.  There  are  multitudes  of  able  dfsserta- 
tions  upon  the  foot  as  a  characteristic  in  comparative  anatomy,  but 
here  the  organ  is  regarded  in  the  light  of  an  instrument  of  locomotion, 
whose  place  saddles,  wagons,  cars,  and  the  like  were  invented  to  fill, 
and  whose  burdens  dogs,  reindeer,  llamas,  camels,  elephants,  asses, 
horses,  and  oxen  were  domesticated  to  share.  In  this  light  its  power, 
versatility,  adaptability,  recuperative  attributes,  elasticity,  and  endur- 
ance are  beyond  our  praise.  But  in  this  chapter  the  foot  itself  is  the 
starting  point  of  a  wonderful  series  of  inventions. 

In  all  countries  where  mere  protection  of  the  foot  was  the  motive, 
those  substances  were  chosen  that  were  abundant  and  from  which  in  a 
few  moments  new  shoes  could  be  constructed  with  a  little  knack  and 
no  special  tools.  Mackenzie  says  that  the  women  who  attended  his 
Indians  were  constantly  employed  in  making  fresh  moccasins  of  elk 
skin.  Travelers  in  the  tropics  also  note  that  when  the  foot  demands 
protection,  the  material  is  always  at  hand,  and  that  the  natives  have  no 
trouble  in  providing  themselves  during  their  resting  spells  with  an 
entirely  new  outfit. 

Under  the  general  name  of  foot  gear  must  be  included  aU  that  is 
attached  to  the  foot  and  lower  leg  in  walking,  running,  or  carrying,  for 
industrial  purposes.  Sandals,  slippers,  shoes,  sabots,  boots,  stockings, 
greaves,  snowshoes,  ice  creepers,  and  others  to  be  mentioned,  may 
be  comprehended  in  a  genus  and  treated  as  objects  in  natural  history 
of  which  we  may  study : 

(1)  The  structure,  materials,  methods  of  production  and  of  applica- 
tion to  the  foot,  varying  from  region  to  region. 

(2)  The  elaboration,  or  evolution,  or  phylogeny,  taking  the  more  com- 
plex varieties  and  tracing  them  to  their  pristine  forms,  as  a  patent  attor 
ney  would  proceed  in  showing  the  serial  development  of  a  modern 
machine. 

(3)  Environmental  influences.     Since  foot  gear  is  devised  for  the 
double  purpose  of  defending  the  foot  from  wear  and  tear,  and  of  pro- 
tecting it  from  the  cold  or  heat,  on  mountain,  plain,  and  bog;  on  open 
sward,  volcanic  slag,  thorny  undergrowth,  and   burning  sand;  from 
poisonous  plants  and  noxious  creatures,  each  and  all  of  these  have 
claimed  a  hearing  from  the  inventor  and  stimulated  ingenuity,  giving 
endless  variety  to  what  would  else  appear  barefooted  monotony. ' 

(4)  Ethnic  peculiarities.     These  are  they  that  put  the  last  finishing 
touches  on  all  human  productions.    Anatomical  form  of  the  foot,  tlie 
survival  of  old  fundamental  structures  useful  in  their  day  and  in  some 
other  region,  the  tribal  art  conceptions,  stitches,  knots,  patterns,  forms; 
the  traditional  and  mythic  emblems ;  names  that  are  repeated  in  things — 
all  these  come  out  in  an  intensive  study  regarding  any  class  of  inventions. 

lCf.  The  author's  "  Origins  of  Invention,"  London,  1894,  Walter  Scott,  Chap.  x. 


308  REPORT     OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 

The  anatomy  of  the  sandal  includes  the  following  parts  or  charac- 
teristics. Some  of  the  parts  may  be  absent,  but  that  fact  should  be 
noted : 

(1)  The  materials  and  technique. 

(2)  The  sole,  its  form,  material,  and  structure. 

(3)  The  toe  piece,  a  thong  or  peg  between  the  great  toe  and  the  next 
one  or  between  other  toes;  a  cap  or  cover  or  string  over  the  toes — that 
is,  the  vamp  or  the  primeval  device  that  answered  its  purpose. 

(4)  The  instep  pieces  or  straps,  rising  from  the  sole  in  front  of  the 
heel  and  uniting  over  the  instep.     In  many  oriental  varieties  there  are 
short  loops  attached  to  the  sole,  and  the  lacing  performs  this  function. 

(5)  The  heel,  wanting  from  sandal  and  slipper  or  is  turned  down, 
especially  in  lands  where  one  has  to  remove  the  foot-wear  quickly, 
for  social,  political,  or  religious  motives.    This  is  true  in  Japan,  and 
notably  in  countries  under  Mohammedan  influences. 

So  there  is  an  endless  variety  of  thought  expressed  in  the  heels 
of  sandals,  as  the  material  is  vegetable  or  animal,  according  to  the 
environment  of  the  people  and  their  work.  Starting  from  the  points 
on  the  margin  of  the  sole  just  below  the  ankles,  two  short  straps  may 
run  up  to  an  ankle  band,  or  a  loop  over  the  heel  may  join  the  sole 
at  these  points,  or  the  lacing  may  run  over  the  heel  through  loops  at 
these  points. 

(6)  The  thong  or  lacing.    It  seems  to  one  giving  heed  to  the  matter, 
that  the  shoemakers  of  old  were  more  troubled  and  racked  their  brains 
more  over  the  lacing  of  the  sandal  than  on  the  structure  of  the  sole. 
The  desiderata  are,  to  have  a  sole  securely  and  flexibly  attached  to  the 
foot,  not  to  lacerate  the  foot  unnecessarily,  and  to  get  the  object  off 
with  as  little  trouble  as  possible.    The  Turkish  slipper,  worn  slipshod 
or  down  at  the  heel,  and  the  Japanese  sandal,  with  toe  string  and  instep 
bands  simply,  fulfill  the  conditions  of  easy  removal — the  former  for 
ceremony,  the  latter  for  cleanliness. 

There  are  two  theories  of  lacing  a  sole  to  the  foot — with  toe  strings 
and  without  them.  In  the  last-named  process  a  sole  of  leather  has  a 
number  of  slits  cut  about  the  margin  and  a  sole  of  fiber  has  a  number 
of  loops  woven  in  the  same  places.  Through  these  slits  or  loops  the 
lacing  passes  as  on  a  skate  or  high  shoe.  By  the  first-named  the  toe 
string  is  the  starting  point  of  fastening,  and  the  question  whether 
there  shall  be  any  lacing  at  all  is  a  matter  of  nationality. 

Example  No.  22192,  from  Yokohama,  Japan,  stands  for  a  very  nuiner 
ous  type  of  foot  wear  (fig.  36). 

These  very  coarse  examples  (sandals)  are  made  from  the  bark  of 
walnut,  or  some  very  dark-colored  bast.  They  are  woven  on  a  warp 
of  four  strands  of  the  same  material.  There  are  six  loops  for  lacing 
in  front,  two  on  the  margin  at  the  arch  of  the  foot  and  four  at  the 
heel.  These  loops  are  made  in  the  course  of  weaving,  and  are,  in 
fact,  a  part  of  the  selvage.  At  the  proper  place  the  material  is  car- 


PRIMITIVE   TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION. 


309 


ried  beyond  the  outside  of  the  warp  aud  doubled;  the  weaving  then 
goes  on  as  usual,  but  when  the  weft  returns  to  form  the  next  stitch  on 
the  selvage  a  half  hitch  is  made  around  the  loop  to  hold  it  fast  in  place, 
and  then  the  weaving  proceeds  normally.  The  lacing  is  of  coarse  rope 
crossed  over  the  toes,  over  the  instep,  and  carried  around  the  heel 
through  the  four  heel  loops  as  shown,  and  brought  back  over  the  instep 
and  tied.  Length  of  foot,  11£  inches.  Collected  by  Hon.  Benjamin  S. 
Lymau. 
A  widely  disseminated  form  of  sandal  consists  of  the  following  parts: 

(1)  Sole  of  rawhide,  single  or  double,  cut  rights  and  lefts. 

(2)  A  toe  piece  passing  up  through  the  sole  between  the  great  and 
the  fore  toe.    This  piece  is  fastened  underneath  by  a  toggle  or  frog, 
cut  out  of  the  leather  or  rawhide  itself,  and  flattened  parallel  with  the 
sole  or  by  a  single  knot  in  the  end. 

(3)  Side  strap :  in  this  class  of  examples  formed  by  cutting  two  slits 
about  an  inch  long  at  the  margins  of  the  sole  under  the  arch  of  the 


Fig.  36. 

SANDAL  OF  BAST  KROM  YOKOHAMA,  JAPAN. 
Cat.  No.  M192,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Benjamin  S.  Lyman. 

foot.  A  bit  of  rawhide  passes  down  through  one  slit  across  the  sole 
beneath  and  up  through  the  other  slit.  The  two  ends  extend  2  inches 
straight  upward  and  are  slit  to  receive  the  lacing. 

(4)  The  lacing:  a  thong  of  leather  slit  at  one  end.  Commencing  at 
the  little  toe  it  passes  backward  through  the  slit  in  the  side  strap  on 
that  margin,  making  a  half  hitch.  Thence  it  passes  back  of  the  heel 
and  through  the  other  side  strap,  and  makes  a  half  hitch.  Thence  it 
passes  through  the  slit  in  the  toe  piece  and  through  the  slit  at  its  own 
starting  point,  and  is  fastened  off.  Length,  94  inches  in  the  example 
(figs.  71,  72)  from  Bolivia.  Collection  of  Mrs.  Fanny  B.  Ward.  Other 
examples  from  Bolivia  are  made  of  rawhide,  and  two  thicknesses 
are  pegged  together,  the  rows  of  pegs  mimicking  the  stitching  on  the 
better  class  of  Turkish  shoes.  Under  the  term  Baxeae  in  Smith's 
Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities,  two  sandals  of  vegetable 
fiber  are  figured — one  rounded  in  front,  the  other  pointed,  one  woven 


310 


REPORT   OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 


diagonally,  the  other  in  close  wicker.  These  have  three  points  of 
attachment — one  for  the  toe  strap  and  two  at  the  margin  under  the 
ankles. 

The  shoe  is  a  sandal  that  has  grown  up  over  the  foot.  The  North 
American  Indian  moccasin  is  the  simplest  modern  illustration  of  this. 
In  a  great  collection  of  them  it  is  hard  to  say  where  the  sole  leaves 
off  and  the  upper  begins.  The  evolution  of  this  important  element 
of  clothing  may  be  traced  in  two  directions,  forward  or  backward. 
Commencing  with  the  first  efforts  to  bring  the  sandal  sole  a  little  way 
over  the  foot  or  by  dissecting  a  modern  elaborate  shoe  and  observing 
where,  in  what  form,  and  from  what  motives  each  element  made  its 
appearance. 

Tristram  says  that  the  word  used  for  shoe  (in  the  East)  is  different 
from  that  for  sandals.  The  latter  are  simply 
soles  of  undressed  hide,  with  the  hair  on  the 
upper  surface,  and  fastened  with  thongs, 
always  carried  by  the  traveler,  who  walks 
barefoot  on  sandy  or  grassy  ground,  but  who 
finds  them  absolutely  necessary  for  the  rocky 
and  stony  paths  of  the  hill  country.  Shoes, 
or  rather  as  we  should  call  them,  slippers, 
have  upper  leathers  and  heels,  and  are  made 
of  softer  material.  They  are  worn  by  horse- 
men, and  for  use  in  the  house  are  frequently 
brightly  colored.1  It  is  more  than  probable 
that  the  rawhide  sandals  with  single  toe- 
string  came  to  Latin- America  from  this  region 
via  Spain. 

The  legging  must  next  be  studied  in  this 
connection.  It  may  have  a  separate  exist- 
ence, as  in  our  modern  examples.  It  may 
form  an  elongated  portion  of  the  shoe,  as  in 
Eskimo  boots.  It  may  be  attached  immedi- 
ately to  a  sandal  and  become  a  boot,  as  in 
northern  Japan.  It  may  extend  uninter- 
ruptedly from  a  rawhide  sole  to  the  hip,  being  shoe  top,  boot  leg, 
and  breeches,  as  in  the  Pueblo  country.  Finally,  shoe,  legging,  and 
breeches  may  be  continuous,  as  in  the  woman's  boots  of  the  Eskimo 
and  the  Mackenzie  River  costumes,  or  in  the  modern  night  drawers  of 
children. 

Example  No.  24080  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  (fig.  37)  is  a  legging 
worn  by  a  Klamath  Indian  in  California,  made  of  coarse  rush  and  woven 
together  by  twined  weaving  precisely  as  in  the  Alaskan  grass  sock  and 
the  Tate  Yama  boot  (fig.  44).  The  Klamath  country  as  well  as  the 
Aleutian  Islands  having  been  more  or  less  exposed  to  Asiatic  influences 
during  the  past  half  century  it  is  quite  within  the  possible  that  both 


Fig.  ST. 

LEGGING     OF     RUSHES     IN     TWINED 
WEAVING,       KLAMATH       INDIANS, 

NORTHERN  CALIFORNIA. 
From  A  figure  in  Mason's  "  Ray  Collection 

from  the  Ho  pa  Reservation,"  Reportof  the 

Smithsonian  Institution,  1886. 


1  Tristram,  "  Eastern  Customs  in  Bible  Lands,"  London,  1894,  p.  50. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION.  311 

the  socks  and  the  leggings  are  late  acculturations.  Omitting  this,  the 
reader  is  left  to  decide  the  question  of  original  suggestion  in  three 
separate  areas. 

Examples  Nos.  150645  to  150649  are  leggings  (hose)  worn  by  the 
Ainos  and  collected  by  Romyn  Hitchcock.  They  are  made  of  Japanese 
white  or  blue  cotton  cloth,  each  embroidered  with  cotton  yarn  of  the 
other  color.  Two  pairs  are  of  the  ohiyo  or  elm  bark  (  Ulmua  montana). 
The  ornamentation  is  produced  partly  in  the  weaving  with  differently 
colored  yarns  and  partly  in  the  use  of  the  embroidered  <  'upid's  bow  or 
double  line  of  beauty,  so  marked  in  all  Aiuo  ornaments.1  It  is  only 
one  step  to  the  boot.  By  uniting  the  legging  to  the  moccasin  and  sew- 
ing the  sandal  on  to  tbe  bottom  of  that,  the  modern  boot  is  in  progress. 
There  is  not  yet  the  complete  outfit  of  sole  and  welt  and  insole;  of 
vamp  and  quarters;'  of  heel  with  a  series  of  lifts;  of  top  and  extension 
top  and  straps;  besides  a  dozen  ornamental  parts.  But  it  will  be  seen 
that  most  of  these  parts,  or  something  more  elaborate  and  quite  as 
effectual,  have  been  thought  out  by  downright  savages. 

As  previously  mentioned,  the  moccasin  is  of  little  or  no  use  in  a 
wet  country,  in  bogs,  or  on  the  seashore.  The  high-heeled  shoes  of 
actors  and  of  palaces  had  their  origin  in  a  necessity.  The  aborigines 
of  America  above  the  Arctic  circle  had  recourse  to  sealskin  cured 
without  sweating  and  fish  skin  to  keep  the  feet  dry.  The  clumsy 
sole  of  the  Asiatic  Pacific  Coast  is  the  result  of  a  struggle  in  the  same 
direction.  But  the  sabot,  the  clog,  the  chopine  show  how  western  Europe 
wrestled  with  the  problem  and  thousands  of  persons  still  find  employ- 
ment in  their  manufacture.  In  England,  the  clog  or  patten  is  one  step 
in  advance  of  the  sabot.  A  sole  of  maple  or  ash  has  an  upper  of 
leather  riveted  or  nailed  on.  The  survival  of  the  clog  is  seen  in  great 
establishments  like  tanneries,  where  it  is  desirable  to  keep  the  feet 
above  wet  and  muddy  floors.  Professor  Morse  draws  my  attention  to 
the  thousand  and  one  styles  of  stilted  sandals  or  quetta  in  use  among 
the  Japanese,  and  these  point  westward  to  the  Caspian  drainage  for 
their  congeners. 

No  one  fails  to  remark  the  extreme  roughness  on  the  inside  of  most 
primitive  foot  gear.  Now,  since  the  sole  of  the  foot,  like  the  back  and 
the  neck  of  a  horse,  is  the  vital  point  to  the  footman  and  the  carrier, 
it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  this  was  an  object  of  constant  care. 
In  fact,  the  foot  itself  has  wonderful  adaptedness  and  the  sole  of  the 
barefoot  man  becomes  extremely  callous.  This  is  nature's  contribution. 
In  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  are  wooden  sandals  adorned  on  the  sole 
with  rows  of  brass-headed  upholsterer's  nails  and  the  tough  feet  of 
the  owners  have  actually  worn  furrows  in  the  wood  between  the  nails. 
But  the  inventive  faculty  has  not  been  idle. 

The  Japanese  weave  a  neat  and  smooth  little  insole  of  rushes  or 
other  soft  fiber  to  fit  above  the  regular  sole  in  the  common  or  diagonal 


Rep.  Smithsonian  Inst.  (U.  S.  Nat.  MOB.)  1890,  pi. 


312  REPORT   OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

pattern  seen  in  chair  bottoms.  In  a  large  series  of  shoes  the  student 
gets  a  good  notion  of  inventive  progress  through  these  insole  devices 
and  the  method  of  their  attachment. 

The  wearers  of  sabots  are  in  the  habit  of  eking  out  the  foot  by  pad- 
ding of  some  kind  to  prevent  chafing.  In  every  case  the  remedy  is 
made  effective  with  the  best  help  of  the  environment.  These  devices 
are  provisions  simply  against  hurt  or  bruises.  Temperature  is  not  con- 
sidered. In  most  regions  under  consideration  the  foot  would  be  injured 
by  bandaging  or  covering.  A  little  further  on  it  will  be  seen  that  pack- 
ing the  foot  in  soft  grass  is  a  provision  for  warmth  and  to  prevent  mak 
ing  that  member  too  delicate.  But  there  is  a  zone,  an  isothermal  belt, 
between  the  complete  double  boot  and  the  sandal,  where  the  tempera- 
ture for  at  least  a  part  of  the  year  is  not  cold  enough  for  the  hyper- 
borean boot  and  packing,  but  where  it  is  too  cool  for  the  unprotected 
foot.  Here  was  elaborated  the  stocking  or  the  double  shoe  top,  or 
something  to  keep  the  foot  and  lower  leg  warm.  It  is  interesting  to 
note  how  exactly  elevation  above  sea  level  tallies  with  latitude  in 
determining  this  special  article  of  dress. 

The  middle  and  western  Asiatics,  for  religious  and  other  considera- 
tions, holding  on  to  the  use  of  the  sandal  (easily  removed),  worked  out 
the  mitten  sock  with  divided  toes,  the  regular  sock  or  stocking,  and  the 
inshoe  or  boot,  over  which  the  other  shoe  fitted.  One  may  imagine 
such  people  moving  northward  or  higher  up  and  developing  the  double 
boot  and  the  overshoe  by  simply  thickening  the  material  or  adopting 
the  thicker  material  supplied  by  nature. 

In  Korea,  as  well  as  in  China,  the  stocking  turns  out  to  be  a  very 
complicated  affair.  A  double  bag  of  coarse  cotton  or  other  fabric  is 
stuffed  with  a  mass  or  waste  half  an  inch  thick.  This  is  doubtless  a 
luxury  for  those  who  do  not  travel,  rendering  the  foot  entirely  too 
tender  for  work.  (Oat.  No.  167711,  TJ.  S.  N.  M.,  from  Korea,  collected 
by  H.  B.  Hurlbert.) 

The  Samoyed  men  and  women  both  wear  the  lieup  thieu,  or  skin 
stocking,  and  the  pimmies,  or  long  deerskin  boots.  The  only  difference 
in  the  latter  is  that  the  crossbar  is  just  above  the  instep  in  the  woman's 
pimmies  and  just  below  the  knee  in  the  men's.  In  wet  snow  unsweated 
sealskin  pimmies  are  worn.  The  Samoyed  woman,  it  is  said,  is  very 
careful  of  her  husband's  skin  boots,  turning  them  inside  out,  hanging 
them  up  to  dry  and  putting  grass  into  them  in  the  morning.1 

Eskimo  men  at  Point  Barrow,  according  to  Murdoch,  wear  stockings 
of  deerskin  with  the  hair  in.  He  figures  the  pattern  of  this  sock,  and 
says  that  they  are  made  of  very  thick  winter  deerskin  and  substituted 
for  the  outer  boots  when  the  men  are  out  deer  hunting  in  winter  in  the 
dry  snow,  especially  when  snowshoes  are  used.2  The  same  device  is  to 


'Jackson,  "The  Great  Frozen  Laud,"  London,  1895,  pp.  27,  64. 
2Ninth  Ann.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  p.  129,  fig.  74,  showing  patterns;  also 
F.  Nansen,  "  First  Crossing  of  Greenland,"  n,  p.  275. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND   TRANSPORTATION. 


313 


be  seen  in  other  fur  wearing  regions,  and  the  selfsame  custom  projects 
itself  into  northwestern  Canada,  only  tin-  buckskin  has  been  tawed. 
Nansen  describes  the  double  sealskin  boot  of  the  Greenland  Kskinio. 

The  Eskimo  also  have  a  fashion  of  placing  little  bundles  of  di  ied 
fiber  or  fur  in  the  boots,  especially  where  the  foot  is  chafed. 

The  East  Greenland  Eskimo  use  grass  iu  their  shoes,  according  to 
Nansen.  He  gives  an  amusing  account  of  this  in  speaking  of  his 
Lapp  companions,  Hal  to  and  Ravna,  who  had  the  selfsame  custom.1 

The  straw  socks  in  the  national  collection  (Nelson.    N<>.    I'.MI- 
are  said  by  him  to  be  made  along  the  lower  Yukon  and  adjacent  tun- 
dra to  the  south,  perhaps  to  the  Kuskokwim.     Unaleet  name.  Athl  uk 
shat. 

Example  No.  8784  is  a  pair  of  grass  socks  worn  by  the  Premorska 
Indians  of  Alaska,  collected  by  William  H.  Dall.  They  are  regularly 
constructed  by  process  of  twined  weaving;  the  warp  is  vertical,  and 
the  stocking  is  made  to  fit  the  foot  by  the  insertion  of  extra-warped 
threads  where  they  are  needed.  Beginning  at  the  middle  of  the  sole 
a  series  of  twined  weavings  proceeds  in  a  spiral  around  the  bottom 
and  the  top  of  the  foot  for  about  an  inch,  when  the  lines  begin  to 
extend  from  the  heel  over  the  top  of  the  instep.  Separate  lines  of 
weaving  are  inserted  across  the  back  of  the  foot  between"  the  toes  and 
the  instep.  This  kind  of  weaving  is  very  common  all  over  the  world, 
but  its  particular  application  to  foot  gear  should  be  compared  with 
No.  73091  from  Tate  Yama,  Japan  (fig.  44).  Length  of  foot,  10£  inches. 
Precisely  similar  weaving  is  to  be  seen  on  the  numerous  grass  wallets 
collected  at  St.  Michaels. 

STOCKINGS  IN  THE  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

49200 

Alaska  

K.W.  Nelson. 

4869C 

Salmt  nisky,  Alaska  

Do. 

38813,  38814 

Lower  Kuakoquim  

Do. 

55972 

Bristol  Hay,  Alaska  

Charles  L.  McKay. 

1693 

Socks  fox  skin 

Anderson  River  

R.  Mac  Farlane. 

68143 

Hudson  Bay,  Eskimo  

J.  T.  Brown. 

5136 

Mackenzie  River  

R.  Mac  Farlane. 

70999 

Arizona  

Maj.  J.W.Powell. 

153045 

Persia  

I'liikaM  Manuka 

76386 

do 

„    do  

Otis  Bigelow. 

164943 

Kashmir  India   

Dr.  W.  L.  Abbott. 

167711 

Korea  

H.  B.  Hurlbert. 

151396 
126875 

do  

Wenchow,  China  
China         

Dr.  D.J.  MoGowan. 
Mias  Doll  U«  Leech. 

558^6 

Manchuria,  China  

Chinese  Centennial  Com- 

49082 49083 

Lower  Yukon,  Alaska.. 

mission. 
E.  W.NeUou. 

49199 

Alaska  

Do. 

8784 

..do        

Fremoraka  Indian*  

W.  H.  Dall. 

1  F.  Nansen,  "First  Crossing  of  Greenland,"  London,  1890,  i,  p.  362. 


314  REPORT   OP   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 

The  iuteroceanic  area,  with  its  Australian,  Negroid,  Polynesian,  and 
Malay  peoples,  is  par  excellence  the  barefooted  region.  On  the  shore 
the  wet  sands  would  render  any  foot  clothing  for  which  nature  there 
furnishes  material  very  uncomfortable.  Life  in  the  boat  or  canoe  and 
in  the  shallow  waters  creates  no  demand  for  shoes.  In  recent  pictures 
of  the  Malagasy  army  the  soldiers  are  barefooted.  These  islands 
are  volcanic  and  the  coasts  are  lined  with  coral  reefs.  For  walking 
over  the  one  or  for  fishing  along  the  other,  some  protection  is  necessary. 
The  Polynesians,  therefore,  wore  a  tufted  sandal  of  bast  of  the  Hibiscus1 
in  fishing  on  the  coral  reefs  (fig.  38).  Or,  as  in  example  No.  92884  in  the 
National  Museum,  from  the  Sandwich  Islands,  leaves  of  pandanus  are 
braided  into  a  poor  sandal  for  walking  over  the  warm  slag.  The  thick 
butt  ends  of  the  leaves  are  imbricated  under  the  soles  so  as  to  leave 
quite  a  thick  pad  between  the  feet  and  the  rough,  hot  ground. 

Example  No.  130639  is  a  sandal  from  New  Zealand  made  of  cordyline 
fiber,  and  consists  of  three  pieces — the  sole,  the  selvage  or  series  of  loops 

extending  quite  around  the  sole, 
and  the  lacing.  The  sole  is  of  very 
coarse  fiber,  woven  in  diaper  pattern 
diagonally.  The  selvage  consists  of 
a  coarse  vine  fastened  at  the  heel, 
and  at  intervals  of  3  inches  looped 
into  the  edge  of  the  sole.  Along 
the  margin  a  small  vine  is  carried 
and  tied  to  the  joints  of  this  selvage 
by  a  clove  hitch  at  each  junction 

SANDAL  OF  BAST   OF   HIBISCUS  FROM  SAMOA.  .  " 

From  .  <*ure  in  RaUel',  «•  Vo.kerkunde."  ^itll  the  SOle,  and    tllO  laClttg   paSSCS 

backward  and  forward  across  the 

foot,  and  around  the  heel  through  these  selvage  loops.  The  heel  is 
made  by  a  series  of  bands  of  very  coarse  fiber,  passing  backward  and 
forward  from  one  selvage  loop  to  another,  and  tied  with  a  single  knot 
at  each  turn. 

The  noticeable  points  in  this  specimen  are  the  diaper  weaving,  the 
complicated  selvage,  and  the  curiously  built-up  heel.  This  specimen 
must  have  belonged  to  a  very  large  man  (fig.  39).  Length,  13  inches. 
Collected  by  the  Royal  Gardens  of  Kew,  England. 

This  type  of  sandal  exists  elsewhere,  and  it  must  not  be  understood 
that  it  is  a  native  New  Zealand  product.  The  absence  of  the  string  or 
strap  between  the  first  and  the  second  toe  will  help  to  suggest  certain 
culture  centers  from  which  it  was  not  derived.  In  Korea  and  among 
the  Ainos  it  is  found,  especially  the  border  loops  for  the  lacing.  But 
an  interesting  similarity  will  be  noted  between  this  specimen  and 
the  figure  of  a  cliff-dweller's  sandal  drawn  by  Nordenskiold.2 

1  Figured  by  Ratzel  in  "  Volkerkunde,"  n,  p.  165. 

2Cf.  Hitchcock,  Rep.  Smithsonian  Inst.  (U.  S.  Nat.  Mus.),  1890,  pi.  xcvn.  Wiener 
does  not  figure  anything  of  the  kind  in  "  P6rou  et  Bolivie." 


PRIMITIVE   TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION.  315 

Example  No.  130640  is  a  pair  of  very  primitive  sandals  of  taromba 
spathe  (Arenga  saccharifera)  from  Borneo.  The  strings  are  made  of 
the  bast  of  the  timbarua  tree.  This  is  the  simplest  form  of  shoe  that 
can  possibly  be  constructed.  A  bit  of  the  spathe  of  the  arenga  is  cut 
out  in  form  of  the  foot,  one  hole  is  bored  at  the  toe  and  two  under  the 
heel.  A  bit  of  twisted  bast  of  the  artocarpus  is  knotted  and  drawn 
through  the  front  so  as  to  pass  between  the  toes,  after  the  manner  of 
the  Caucasian  or  Mediterranean  stocks  or  the  Japanese ;  this  is  the 
lacing.  Another  bit  of  the  same  material  doubled  passes  through  the 
two  holes  under  the  heel  to  form  loops.  The  lacing  passes  between  the 
toes,  across  the  back  of  the  foot  to  the  loop  on  the  outside,  around 
the  heel  through  the  loop  on  the  inside,  and  across  the  instep  to  be 
fastened.  Length,  11  inches.  Collected  by  Eoyal  Gardens  of  Kew, 
England. 

In  tropical  America  below  the  Piedmont  regions,  that  is  in  the  east- 
ern portions  and  on  the  lowlands,  the  aborigines  were  barefooted. 
Indeed,  though  the  question  of  origin  is  not  here  at  all  discussed,  it 
will  be  further  seen 
when  the  shod  Amer- 
ican is  studied  that  it 
is  very  difficult  nowa- 
days  to  distinguish 
the  New  World  from 
the  Old  World  sandal 
in  that  area.    Look- 
ing    through     such 
careful  works  as  Von 
den  Steiuen's  one  sees  Fifr  ^ 

no     picture     OI     lOOt  SANDAL  OF  CORUYHNE  FIBER  FROM  NEW  ZEALAND. 

gear  and  no  allusion       c.t.  NO.  \yx&,  u.  s.  N.  M.  coii«-t*d  by  ««  Rn7>i  Bounic r,«r^«..  K-«, 
to  it    in  the  index.1 

What  has  been  said  concerning  the  Indo- Pacific  peoples  and  America 
may  be  repeated  of  negroid  Africa,  that  is  the  part  south  of  the  Sahara. 
The^e  is  no  climatic  reason  for  shoes,  the  country  is  not  volcanic,  and  the 
noxious  animals  are  less  able  to  injure  the  unclothed  foot.  There  is  an 
enormous  amount  of  going  about  and  of  trading  along  beaten  and  cleared 
paths,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  natives  are  all  the  time  tramping  to 
the  trading  center  and  to  the  coast,  and  yet  we  are  told  that  they  never 
cover  the  feet.  In  all  books  of  travels  and  in  photographs  the  natives 
are  represented  barefooted.  This  has  given  rise  in  Africa,  and  in  Bor- 
neo as  well,  to  a  peculiar  weapon,  the  foot-path  splinter,  small  splints 
of  cane  sharpened,  cut  nearly  in  two,  and  stuck  in  the  trail  or  public 
highway,  a  kind  of  aboriginal  caltrop.  The  U.  8.  Rational  Museum, 
though  well  supplied  with  African  material  and  specially  rich  in  foot 
wear,  is  extremely  poor  in  examples  from  negroid  Africa.  An  interest- 


l  liter  <l.Mi  Naturvolkeru  Zentral-Brasilieiis,"  Berlin,  1894. 


316  REPORT   OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 

ing  chapter  could  be  written  on  the  deformations  produced  by  cramp- 
ing the  foot  of  the  African  into  white  men's  shoes. 

The  Hottentots,  according  to  Ratzel,  wear  sandals  of  woven  filaments 
and  of  rawhide.  In  the  former  the  toes  pass  under  a  looped  cord  which 
extends  up  the  middle  of  the  instep,  is  knotted  at  the  ankle,  and  fast- 
ened down  at  either  side  of  the  heel.  In  the  rawhide  specimens  there 
is  in  addition  a  separate  heel  piece.1 

Weiss's  "  Kostumkunde"  figures  a  Hottentot  sandal  made  of  a  piece  of 
hide  drawn  up  about  the  side  of  the  foot  and  laced.  He  quotes  Neibuhr 
on  the  Arab  practice  of  cutting  up  the  hide  of  a  dead  donkey  on  the 
road  for  sandals.  Two  Arab  figures  of  Weiss's  have  loops  or  inclos- 
ures  for  one  or  more  toes  (fig.  101,  d  and  e).  This  last  has  (1)  quadri- 
lateral sole;  sewed  with  single  thong;  (2)  heel  strap  separate,  sloping 
up  from  sole;  (3)  instep  band;  (4)  toe  band,  across  all  toes;  (5)  toe 
strings,  inclosing  three  middle  toes  and  running  back  to  (3)  to  be 
tied.  Feature  5  has  some  resemblance  to  Central  American  types. 

When  the  Hottentots  drive  their  herds  to  pasture,  says  Kolben,  they 
put  on  a  kind  of  leather  stocking  to  secure  their  legs  from  being 
scratched  by  briars,  etc.  When  they  are  to  pass  over  rocks  and  sand, 
they  put  on  a  kind  of  sandal  cut  out  of  the  rawhide  of  an  ox  or  ele- 
phant, each  consisting  of  only  one  piece,  turning  up  about  half  an  inch 
all  around  the  foot,  with  the  hairy  side  out,  and  fastened  on  with  strings.2 
Nothing  could  be  simpler  to  protect  the  sole  of  the  foot.  Aboriginal 
peoples,  having  access  to  animals  with  thick  skins,  naturally  resort  to 
this  simple  device  of  a  bit  of  pelt  cut  larger  than  the  foot,  and  while 
green  or  soaked  turned  up  around  the  edge  of  the  sole.  This  method 
of  constructing  a  shoe  or  boot  sole  will  appear  again  away  up  in  the 
higher  grades  of  the  art.  This  specimen  must  be  compared  with  a 
South  American  example  further  on. 

Ratzel  also  figures  a  sandal  from  IJnyoro,  after  Baker,  somewhat 
dish-shaped,  in  which  there  is  no  distinction  of  sole  and  upper,  and  yet 
the  material  rises  well  up  about  the  sole  of  the  foot  and  above  it  for 
nearly  an  inch.3  The  sandals  of  this  type  are  held  onto  the  foot  by 
the  rudest  kind  of  lacing,  generally  rove  backward  and  forward 
through  gashes  cut  in  the  upper  margin.  As  the  Sandwich  Island 
sandal  is  among  the  rudest  of  vegetal  foot  gear,  this  type  ranks  low- 
est among  those  made  of  skin.  Similar  sandals  are  worn  on  the  high 
plateaus  of  Peru  made  from  the  skin  of  the  llama  or  of  coarse  vegetable 
fiber  (fig.  40).4 

Sir  Samuel  Baker  figures  a  Unyoro  sandal  of  rawhide.  It  is  a  shal- 
low tray  or  dish,  into  which  the  foot  is  fitted.  A  strap  loop  in  front 
fits  the  great  toe;  at  the  sides,  on  the  margins,  under  the  ankle  bones 


1  Ratzel,  "  Volkerkunde,"  Leipzig,  1887,  I,  p.  91,  four  figures. 

2  Kolben,  "  Voyage  to  Cape  Good  Hope,"  IV,  p.  14. 

3  Ratzel,  "Volkerkunde,"  Leipzig,  1887,  i,  p.  65. 
<  Wiener,  "Perou  et  Bolivie,"  p.  679. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND   TRANSPORTATION.  317 

there  are  projections  upward,  slashed  for  the  reception  of  a  thong  or 
lacing  that  passes  over  the  instep  and  backward  over  the  heel. 

In  central  Soudan,  Kanembu  and  Manga  warriors  wear  sandals 
made  of  a  sole  of  hide  fastened  on  by  a  thong  passing  between  the 
toes  straight  back  to  the  ankle,  where  it  meets  a  thong  passing  around 
the  ankle  and  down  to  the  sole  at  the  arch,  as  in  a  spur.  Indeed,  tin- 
whole  fastening  is  one  continuous  thong.  This  variety  adds  the  toe 
strap,  so  common  in  all  lands  immediately  or  remotely  touched  by  Cau- 
casian influence.  This  feature  will  be  noted  further  on. 

Katzel  figures  examples  made  from  leather  among  the  Herero.     The 

type  has  toe  strap  extended  and  looped  bel I  the  ankle  and  attached 

to  two  side  straps.1  The  specimens  figured  are  quite  ornate,  and  belong 
rather  to  social  life  than  to  the  road.  The  characteristics  also  are  from 
a  region  farther  north. 

Example  No.  72716  is  a  low  shoe  from  Morocco.    The  sole  is  «>f  raw 
hide,  curved  up,  and  formed  while  wet  so  as  to  fit  around  the  mar-in 
of  the  foot  and  over  the'toes,  where  the  two  edges  are  united  to  form  a 
point  decorated  with 
an    insertion  of  red  / 

morocco.      The  nar  / 

row  upper  margin, 
of  black  leather,  is 
sewed  on  all  around 
and  doubled  under  Fig  40 

at    the     edge.       The      I-KUI-VIAN  SANUALS  OK  LLAMA  HIDE  AXD  TEXTILES,  FROM  ANCON  AND 

string  or  strap  passes 

,  .  From  a  (l«nrH  in  Wiewr'«  •' IVmn  -I  Rot.vi»." 

through  slashing  in 

the  heel  and  at  the  sides  of  the  ankle.  The  noticeable  features  are  the 
sole  made  of  one  piece  and  the  simple  manner  in  which  the  pointed  toe 
is  formed.  Length,  10  inches. 

Example  No.  72716  is  a  shoe  from  Morocco,  the  gift  of  the  .Museum 
fur  Volkerkunde,  Leipzig.  It  is  made  of  light-brown  leather,  which 
has  been  stretched  over  a  last  when  wet  and  permitted  to  dry  into 
shape.  The  toes  are  pointed,  and  into  them  are  inserted  strips  of  red 
leather  bound  with  black.  They  are  secured  to  the  foot  by  a  leather 
thong,  which  ties  across  the  instep.  Length,  !>^  inches.  The  pointed 
toe  is  ornamental  and  leads  away  from  the  road.  Its  distribution  in 
time  and  place  is  not  difficult  to  trace. 

The  Mohammedan  influence  in  west  Soudan,  added  to  the  North 'Afri- 
can propensity  for  fine  leather,  is  expressed  in  embossed  and  bedecked 
slippers.  Symmetry  overcomes  the  desire  to  follow  the  shape  of  the 
foot.  The  toe  strap  is  attached  to  cross  straps  rising  from  the  arch  of 
the  foot.  There  are  no  heel  straps,  and  the  sandal  lias  only  a  slipshod 
attachment  to  the  foot.2  The  stilt  sandal,  with  toe  peg,  exists  among 

'Rat/el.  •'Vr.lkerkun.l.-,  '  Leipzig,  1887, 1,  p. 328. 

fur  Volkerkumle,  Hrrlin.     I'i^un-d  hy  Rut /.<•!,  Ibid.,  in,  pp.  1X7,  277. 


318  REPORT   OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1$94. 

the  Mandingos,  but  is  useless  for  traveling  purposes  and  came  with  the 
Mohammedans. 

Example  No.  43073  is  a  pair  of  sandals  from  Monrovia,  Liberia,  con- 
structed on  the  plan  of  shoes  generally  worn  in  Mohammedan  coun- 
tries. Several  thicknesses  of  leather  are  sewed  together  with  a  single 
thong  in  the  form  of  stitch  called  "  running."  A  small  string  passes 
up  through  the  front  and  is  connected  with  the  lacing,  which  passes 
between  the  toes.  The  shoe  is  held  in  place  by  broad  bands  attached 
to  the  sole  under  the  heel,  and  crossing  each  other  on  the  back  of  the 
foot.  A  large  button  or  rosette  is  placed  on  top  of  the  foot  below  the 
instep.  The  surface  of  this  rosette  consists  of  diagonal  weaving  of 
red  and  black  leather  and  palm  leaf  in  very  pretty  geometric  pat- 
terns. Length,  Of  inches.  Collected  by  J.  H.  Smyth,  United  States 
minister. 

Mr.  L.  M.  McCormick  purchased  at  a  bazaar  in  Aden  a  pair  of  sandals 
which  show  little  or  no  signs  of  wear  (example  No.  175228  in  the 
National  Museum).  The  soles  are  quadrilateral,  of  two  thicknesses  of 
old  leather,  the  lower  much  tougher.  Under  the  heel  of  each  is  an 
additional  piece,  wedge-shaped,  and  between  the  soles  an  old  sole  for 
packing.  These  soles  are  sewed  together  by  thongs  of  leather,  making 
short  stitches  on  top  and  long  stitches  underneath,  about  the  margin 
and  halfway  down  the  middle.  So  much  for  the  soles. 

There  are  four  parts  connected  with  the  lacing,  which  may  be  called 
(1)  the  toe  string,  (2)  the  buckle,  (3)  the  heel  strap,  and  (4)  the  lacing. 
The  toe  strap,  or  string,  passes  through  two  slits  in  the  upper  sole,  so  as 
to  go  between  toes  1  and  2  and  3  and  4,  and  the  two  ends  are  then  drawn 
up  through  separate  slits  in  the  leather  buckle,  tied  in  a  single  knot, 
and  laid  down  flat.  The  buckle,  so  called,  is  a  quadrilateral  piece  of 
leather,  having  two  narrow  slits  for  the  ends  of  the  toe  string  and  two 
wider  ones  for  the  lacing.  This  buckle  lies  on  the  top  of  the  foot  below 
the  instep. 

The  heel  strap  is  of  the  very  common  sort,  a  strip  of  leather  nearly 
an  inch  wide,  passing  through  two  slits  on  the  margins  of  the  upper  sole. 
Its  ends  stand  up  an  inch  or  more,  and  have  double  slits  or  slashes  for 
the  lacing. 

The  lacing  is  interesting  (1)  for  its  function  in  the  "buckle,"  to  hold 
the  toe  string  in  place  and  for  the  deft  way  in  which  the  ends  of  the  toe 
strings  are  tucked  under,  and  (2)  for  the  knots  in  the  lugs  or  ends  of 
the  heel  strap  made  on  one  side  by  a  double  loop  in  the  lacing  rove 
through  the  slits,  and  for  the  other  side  by  the  tucking  in  of  the  ends, 
which  can  be  shown  only  by  a  drawing. 

Example  No.  175227  is  a  pair  of  sandals  without  location,  consisting 
of  compound  soles,  toe  strings,  toe  loop,  instep  band,  and  side  straps  at 
the  arch  of  the  foot,  besides  a  variety  of  ornamentations.  As  the  san- 
dal furnishes  a  type,  it  may  be  more  minutely  described : 

(1)  The  sole  in  its  top  layer  is  complete,  the  next  layer  reaches  from 
the  heel  nearly  to  the  tip,  the  next  two  are  complete,  and  they  niiish 


PRIMITIVE   TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  319 

the  upper  series.  The  heel  is  cut  like  that  of  a  modern  shoe.  Under 
the  ankles  two  broad  side  straps  extend  outward  for  purposes  of  lash- 
ing. The  front  portion  widens  out  very  broad,  and  the  specimens  are 
rights  and  lefts. 

(2)  Beneath  this  series  is  another,  of  the  same  dimensions  at  the  heel, 
receding  half  an  inch  under  the  front  of  the  foot.    The  heel  has  two  or 
three  extra  layers,  but  there  has  been  some  patching. 

(3)  The  ankle  pieces  extending  from  the  sole  are  double  on  either  sid*-, 
and  a  double  ankle  band,  the  upper  layer  cut  and  stamped  into  lace 
work,  is  sewed  by  its  ends  between  the  ankle  pieces. 

(4)  The  toe  fastenings  are  noteworthy,  consisting  of  a  loop  for  the 
great  toe,  and  triple  or  double  toe  strings  between  1  and  2  and  4  and  5. 

These  toe  strings  are  gathered  between  the  instep  band  by  means 
of  strings  having  false  buttons  of  leather  decorated  with  brass.  The 
sewing  is  done  in  the  universal  southern  Asiatic  fashion  by  punching 
holes  and  reeving  a  leather  thong  through  them,  making  neat  stitches 
above  and  long  ones  beneath.  In  the  English  Illustrated  Magazine 
for  October,  1895,  page  83,  may  be  seen  a  Somali  man  wearing  the 
peculiar,  heavy,  thick  soled,  curved  sandals,  with  the  curious  side- 
boards visible  on  the  feet  of  some  Assyrian  sculptures.  On  page  85  a 
queer  looking  lot  of  boys  are  similarly  set  out.  In  riding,  the  men  use 
a  rawhide  loop  for  stirrups. 

"In  Egypt,"  says  Ermaii,  "  men  and  women,  young  and  old,  almost 
always  went  barefoot,  even  when  wearing  the  richest  costumes.  Under 
the  old  and  the  middle  empire  women  seem  never  to  have  worn  san- 
dals, while  great  men  probably  only  used  them  when  they  were  needed 
out  of  doors,  and  even  then  they  generally  gave  them  to  be  carried  by 
the  sandal  bearer  who  followed  them.  Sandals  were  more  frequently 
used  under  the  new  empire;  still  they  were  not  quite  naturalized,  and 
custom  forbade  that  they  be  worn  in  presence  of  a  superior.  Conse- 
quently sandals  were  all  essentially  of  the  same  form.  Those  here 
represented  have  soles  of  leather,  of  papyrus,  reed,  or  palm  bast;  the 
two  straps  are  of  the  same  material,  one  strap  passes  over  the  instep, 
the  other  between  the  toes.  Sometimes  a  third  strap  is  put  behind 
round  the  heel  in  order  to  hold  the  sandals  on  better;  sometimes  the 
front  of  the  sandal  is  turned  over  as  a  protection  to  the  toes.  The  san- 
dal with  sides  belongs  to  a  later  period."' 

The  Egyptian  sandals  in  the  Metropolitan  Museum,  New  Yorkx  are 
of  the  following  kinds: 

1.  No.  351,  center  of  sole  of  leather  bordered  with  rows  of  coiled 
weaving  in  vegetal  fiber;  toe  string  of  vegetal  fiber. 

2.  No.  298  is  woven,  warp  transverse,  the  texture  resembling  the 
coiled  basketry  of  the  Interior  Basin  of  the  United  States,  wherein  the 
filaments  split  through  one  another;  the  border  consists  of  two  rows  of 
coil;  toe  string  of  fiber,  knotted  undrrnrath. 


1  Erman,  "  Life  in  Aucient  Egypt,"  London,  1X94,  pp.  226-228,  with  ton  figures  in 
the  text. 


320  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

In  the  Douglas  Egyptian  collection  of  the  same  museum,  one  exam- 
ple is  woven  diagonally  of  papyrus,  but  has  a  sewed  border;  there  is  a 
hole  for  the  toe  string.  One  pair  has  wooden  soles,  one-eighth  inch 
thick,holes  for  toe  strings,  and  little  posts  or  standards  of  wood  beneath 
the  ankle;  the  lacing  passes  from  the  toe  string  across  the  top  of  the 
foot  to  these  posts.  In  drawings  little  curtains  of  ornamental  stuff 
depend  from  the  lacings.  These  sandals  are  not  for  the  road.  No.  45 
in  the  Douglas  collection  has  a  strongly  turned-up  toe,  pointed,  the 
continued  point  meeting  the  toe  string;  a  side,  or  vamp  and  quarter  in 
one,  extends  from  the  toe  quite  around,  inclosing  the  foot;  the  inside 
is  lined  with  diagonally  woven  matting.  These  shoes  resemble  many 
Chinese  examples.' 

The  sandal  on  the  statue  of  Rameses  n,  in  Turin,  has  a  flat  sole, 
toe  string  between  1  and  2,  going  straight  up  the  top  ot  the  foot  to  a 
much-raised  instep  baud  reaching  up  from  the  sole  under  the  heel. 
Other  examples  much  turned  up  after  the  manner  of  the  Somali  type 
in  front  have  the  same  elements  with  decorated  instep  band.  Weiss2 
figures  the  greatest  variety  in  this  instep  piece.  There  are  practically 
five  types  of  Egyptian  shoe  according  to  this  author: 

(1)  Sole,  toe  string,  instep  strap. 

(2)  Sole  of  vegetal  fiber,  toe  string  bifurcated,  instep  strap. 

(3)  Toe  strap,  ankle  baud,  vertical  side  straps. 

(4)  Wooden  soles,  ankle  posts,  ankle  band  sloping  downward  to  the 
top  of  the  post,  and  toe  string  passing  to  ankle  band  in  two  parts,  from 
which  hang  curtains. 

(5)  Double  sole,  curled  toe,  toe  strap,  instep  strap.    From  the  instep 
strap  to  the  toe,  as  in  a  Canadian  toboggan,  a  curtain  hangs  down  the 
sides. :i 

The  ancient  Hebrew  wore  a  sandal  with  sole  of  leather,  felt,  cloth, 
or  wood,  occasionally  shod  with  iron.  From  a  passage  in  the  Mishna 
it  would  seem  that  a  heel  strap  was  used  in  addition  to  the  lacing 
[latchet]  (Jebam.,  xn,  1).  In  accordance  with  the  general  statement 
that  the  shoe  is  an  implement  of  travel,  the  Hebrews  wore  the  sandal 
chiefly  on  the  road.  It  was  the  Gibeonites  who  used  the  condition  of 
their  footwear  as  an  indicator  of  distance  traveled,  "  Our  shoes  have 
become  old  by  reason  of  the  very  long  journey  "  (Joshua  ix,  13). 

The  modern  Semito  Hamite  pays  great  attention  to  the  sandal  and 
the  shoe.  The  Hittite  statue  at  Jerabis  has  on  its  feet  boots,  the  sole 

'The  modern  Egyptians  wear  red  and  yellow  Turkish  shoes;  red  outer  shoes, 
murkoo'b;  inner  yellow  shoes,  raezz.  The  former  are  worn  slipshod,  and  taken  off 
upon  stepping  on  a  carpet  or  rug.  (Lane,  "Modern  Egyptians,"  London,  1846,  I, 
p.  44.) 

2 "  Kostiimkunde,"  Stuttgart,  1860,  2  vols.  For  the  many  ways  in  which  ankle 
band  may  become  heel  and  instep  band  by  having  its  ankle  parts  elongated  and 
drawn  down  to  the  sole,  cf.  Erman,  "  vEgypt,"  Tiibingen,  1885,  pp.  138,  159,  and 
elsewhere. 

1  Weiss,  "  Kostiimkunde,"  i,  p.  37. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION.  321 

stopping  under  the  ball  of  the  foot.  Then-  i>  a  distinct  quarter  over  the 
heel  and  a  top  reaching  up  and  constructed  much  as  in  the  Athapas- 
can moccasin.1 

In  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  there  is  an  interesting  pair  of  san- 
dals (example  No.  ?>±{M),  which  have  been  in  its  possession  a  great 
many  years.  The  locality  given  is  Arabia,  but  many  of  the  older  num- 
bers of  the  collection  are  not  absolutely  reliable.  The  notable  features 
are  the  sole,  the  lacing,  and  the  ornamentation.  The  sole  consists  of 
four  thicknesses  of  leather,  the  middle  one  being  the  thickest.  These 
are  sewed  together  by  means  of  a  leather  thong  passing  backward  and 
forward,  so  as  to  make  the  alternation  of  stitches  and  vacant  spaces 
quite  regular  around  the  upper  border.  No  care  is  bestowed  upon 
the  bottom  in  this  particular.  This  form  of  sewing  or  running  bits  of 
leather  together  is  a  type  to  be  observed.  The  lacing  is  thus  applied: 
the  toe  strap  consists  of  three  thicknesses  which  pass  down  through 
the  sole  and  are  fastened  oft'  below.  Two  of  these  thicknesses  serve 
this  function  and  no  other.  The  third  strap  passes  up  between  the 
toes,  turns  to  the  outer  side  of  the  foot,  is  attached  to  a  loop  or  lug  on 
the  side  by  a  single  half  hitch,  passes  across  the  instep  down  to  a  lug 
on  the  opposite  side  where  it  is  again  fastened,  and  then  up  over  the 
side  of  the  foot  above  the  great  toe,  where  it  passes  through  the  three 
thicknesses  of  leather  and  is  fastened  oft' by  a  s  >rt  of  Turk's- head  knot. 
The  ornamentation  consists  of  diagonal  patterns  and  lines  in  white 
and  green  leather  formed  by  sewing  or  back-stitching  with  a  very  nar- 
row thin  filament  or  thong  of  leather.  The  top  of  the  sole,  a  broad  band 
going  across  the  foot,  and  a  little  narrow  tongue  of  white,  green,  and 
brown  leather  on  the  instep  over  the  lacing  are  all  decorated  after  this 
fashion.  Length,  10  inches. 

Bare  feet  are  very  common  in  Chaldean  and  Assyrian  sculptures, 
but  foot  gear  is  not  uncommon.  Boottees,  high  shoes,  a  little  difficult 
to  make  out,  and  sandals  with  borders  turned  up,  are  worn  in  proces- 
sions and  about  the  royal  palace.-' 

Assyrian  sandals  shown  in  sculptures  have  (1)  sole  of  leather,  single 
or  double,  flat  generally;  (2)  heel  inclosed  by  "quarter"  piece,  sloping 
down  frontward ;  (3)  cross  straps  and  lacings  from  the  quarter  piece 
over  the  back  of  the  foot  and  to  the  margins  frontward ;  (4)  loop  over 
great  toe,  alone  or  attached  to  lacing. 

Three  kinds  of  foot  gear  are  shown  at  Khorsabad.  Two  of  them  are 
sandals  and  one  is  a  laced  boot.  In  one  form  of  sandal  the  heel  and 
plantar  arch  are  closed  in,  the  instep  and  toes  are  bare,  and  three  straps 
or  three  turns  of  a  lacing  connect  the  heel  piece  or  low  quarter  across 
the  instep.  In  the  second  sandal  this  heel  is  prolonged  forward.  The 
toes  are  strapped  down  and  lacings  pass  across  the  metatarsals  and 
over  tlic  instep.  The  laced  boot  has  a  sole  curved  up  all  round  like 


1  William  Wrijjlit,  "  Empire  of  the  Hittites,"  New  York,  1884,  pis.  i,  n. 
'Perrot  et  Chipit-/,  "Chaldea,"  London,  1884,  u. 
H.  Mis.  90,  pt.  2 L'l 


322  REPORT    OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 

that  of  a  Canadian  lumberman  and  the  top  is  sewed  to  this  and  laced 
all  the  way  up  the  front.  The  Eskimo  boots  and  the  lauparsko  of  the 
Lapps  are  on  the  same  model. 

The  Assyrian  of  high  rank  wore  a  saudal  with  sole  of  wood  or  thick 
leather.  The  upper  consisted  of  a  heel  piece,  sloping  forward  and 
reaching  to  the  ball  ot  the  foot,  where  it  runs  out  and  leaves  the  toes 
and  back  of  the  foot  uncovered.  Lugs,  or  eyelets,  on  the  margin  of  this 
piece  served  for  lacing,  passing  two  or  more  times  over  the  instep.  The 
lacing  also  crossed  on  the  instep,  and  was  passed  round  the  great  toe 
and  between  it  and  the  adjoining  toe. 

For  the  common  people  the  sandal  was  a  sole,  with  a  sloping  heel  band 
extending  to  the  ball  of  the  foot,  laced  over  the  instep  with  a  thong 
passing  through  eyelets.  Between  the  lacing  and  the  instep  a  pad  was 
held  in  place  by  the  lacing  running  through  slashes  in  the  pad.  This 
kind  of  sandal,  reaching  only  to  the  toes  and  held  on  by  a  heel  band, 
occurs  in  hundreds  of  figures  in  the  Mexican  codices.  It  is  a  little 
difficult  to  understand  how  a  bare  foot  would  be  benefited  by  such 
gear.  In  the  finest  American  snowshoes  the  open  space  in  the  netting 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  toes  also  suggests  itself.  Layard  also 
tells  us  that  the  enemies  of  the  Assyrians  differ  from  them  in  foot  gear. 
On  some  feet  the  sole  is  attached  by  bands  passing  over  the  instep  and 
around  the  heel.  In  other  examples  there  seems  to  be  a  sole  turned 
up  and  the  upper  rim  united  by  crossbands,  the  upper  part  being  left 
exposed. 

The  warriors'  boots  in  the  Khorsabad  sculptures  are  not  so  difficult 
to  comprehend.  The  sole  was  turned  up  all  around  the  margin,  the 
vamp  and  legging  were,  perhaps,  in  one  piece,  and  sewed  to  the  sole. 
The  legging  was  doubtless  open  in  front,  as  may  be  seen  in  a  great 
many  northern  examples  in  our  day.1  See  figure  boot  of  the  Tate  Yama 
hunter.  Mr.  Rockhill  brought  from  Tibet  a  long  scroll,  covered  with 
painting  of  the  various  western  barbarous  nations  coming  to  pay  their 
tribute  to  the  Emperor  of  China.  The  foot  wear  in  most  of  them  agrees 
with  the  specimens  brought  home  by  him.  The  primitive  efforts  at 
boot  making  with  the  toe  well  curved  up  and  the  typical  Turkish 
slipper  predominate. 

The  Assyrian  sandal  shown  in  the  bas-reliefs  has  a  leather  sole  of 
several  thicknesses  sewed  together.  The  toe  string  passes  between  1 
and  2,  is  bifurcated  and  reaches  the  margin  of  the  sole  under  the 
arch  of  the  foot,  as  in  the  Japanese  sandal.  There  is  also  a  band  across; 
all  toes  well  in  front,  in  a  side  view  seeming  to  be  looped  only  over 
the  first  toe.  Frequently  the  heel  cover  is  a  solid  leather  quarter  slop- 
ing forward  and  giving  out  at  the  margin  under  the  ball  of  the  foot. 

In  the  Cesnola  collection,  Metropolitan  Museum,  New  York  City, 
several  pieces  of  pottery  from  Cyprus  show  the  boot  or  shoe  form,  or 


1  Cf.  Layard,  "Nineveh  and  its  Remains,"  New  York,  1849,  II.     See  figure  opposite 
p.  236. 


PRIMITIVE   TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION.  323 

the  ornamented  moccasin.  In  one  or  two  examples  the  toe  string 
between  1  and  2,  and  the  additional  band  across  all  toes  appear. " 

Some  idea  of  the  foot  gear  of  the  Caucasian  in  his  ancient  culture 
may  be  gained  from  carvings  and  sculptures  or  monuments  and  from 
ornaments  on  vases.  The  lesson  is  the  same.  The  soldier  is  shod,  for 
he  is  the  man  of  the  road,  and  whether  he  is  portrayed  in  combat  or 
idealized  in  sculpture  or  apotheosized  in  temple  adornment,  he  knows 
no  holy  ground  where  he  must  take  the  shoes  from  ott'  his  feet.  A 
modern  officer  of  high  rank  when  borne  to  his  grave,  accompanied  by 
his  horse,  has  the  boots  still  attached  to  the  stirrups. 

The  Greek  xptjnis,  Latin  crepida,  occupied  a  middle  position  between 
a  closed  boot  and  a  plain  sandal.  Its  simplest  form  was  a  high  and 
strong  sole  often  studded  with  nails.  Other  forms  had  a  low  upper 
creeping  up  over  the  foot  and  becoming  a  shoe.  In  .the  dramatic  cos- 
tumes the  xptjiris  assumed  the  form  of  a  soft  shoe  worn  by  women.1 
The  crepida  belonged  to  working  people  and  soldiers,  chiefs  among 
roadsters.  About  the  heel  there  was  a  series  of  loops  into  which  the 
thong  was  laced  across  the  top  of  the  foot  and  through  the  toe  strap. 
One  form  of  Assyrian  sandal  has  the  same  suggestion  of  an  upper. 

The  Roman  mndalium — BXavrai  or  GotvdaXiov  in  Greek — were  orig- 
inally wooden  soles  secured  to  the  feet  with  thongs.  During  the 
Homeric  age  they  were  worn  only  by  women;  later  in  Italy  and  in 
Greece  they  were  used  by  both  sexes.  Solea  was  the  military  sandal. 
A  sandal  with  a  leather  toe  piece,  uraftp/ur,  was  the  ancestor  of  the 
now  universal  sandal  of  the  world.  By  a  regular  transition  the  lower 
form  became  the  shoe,  calceua.  Indeed,  the  last  term  covers  vnodrinct, 
the  laced  sandal,  shoes,  and  boots. 

The  baxe<e  of  the  Romans  were  sandals  made  of  vegetable  leaves, 
stems,  twigs,  or  fibers.  The  figures  in  Smith  show  both  plain  and 
wicker  weaving.2  In  both  examples  there  is  the  toe  strap  between  the 
first  and  the  second  toe,  a  selvage  border  more  closely  plaited,  and  the 
two  varieties  of  sharp  toe  and  round  toe  that  have  divided  shoes  and 
snowshoes  into  two  opposite  camps  always  and  everywhere.  No  heel 
strap  appears  on  these  simple  devices,  and  they  evidently  take  their 
places  in  the  class  with  the  heelless  slipper. 

In  a  work  published  in  Amsterdam  in  1B67,  entitled  "Balduinus  de 
Calceo  Antique  et  Negronius  de  Caliga  Veteruin,"  the  following  styles 
of  sandals  are  figured: 

(1)  A  scoop-shaped  piece  of  leather,  extending  under  the  foot  to  the 
ball  and  up  the  sides  and  about  the  heel  an  inch  or  so,  is  abruptly  cut 
off,  leaving  the  toes  free  as  on  a  moccasin  snowshoe.     Loops  pass  from 
side  to  side  across  the  top  of  the  foot. 

(2)  A  stifl'sole  fitting  the  foot  has  four  lugs  or  loops  on  the  margin,  two 
opposite  the  toe  joints,  theothers  under  the  instep;  asingle  lace  is  used. 


1  Smith,  Dictionary  of  Antiquities,  a.  v.  "Crepida,"  with  tigur*. 

2  Ibid.,  H.  \.  ••  Husta." 


324 


REPORT   OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


(3)  A  flat  sole,  with  one  or  two  bands  across  the  foot  at  right  angles 
to  its  axis.    Under  soles  of  this  pattern  blocks  of  wood  and  stilted 
appliances  are  put. 

(4)  A  sole,  with  toe  string  between  the  first  and  second  toe.    On 
reaching  the  top  of  the  foot  this  toe  string  is  variously  treated  (a), 
splitting  and  proceeding  over  the  foot  to  the  margin  of  the  sole  under 
the  instep,  Japanese  fashion;   (b)  going  straight  to  the  ankle  band; 
(c)  becoming  part  of  straight  across  lacing.     In  a  Eoman  sandal  on 
the  Arch  of  Constantine  the  toe  string  does  both,  splits  and  passes  to 
the  margin,  and  by  another  branch  passes  straight  to  the  ankle  band, 
locking  with  all  crossbarids  on  its  way.     On  Trajan's  Column  both 
kinds  are  shown,  with  toe  string  and  without  it.1 

Examples  of  medieval  shoes  are  in  the  Baker  collection,  Metro- 
politan Museum,  New  York.  The  slipshod  and  the  plain  low  shoe  are 
affairs  of  fashion,  however,  and  the  ancient  forms  held  the  road  till 
much  later. 

Example  No.  130835  (fig.  41)  is  an  Afghan  sandal,  consisting  of  the 

sole  and  the  upper 
lacing.  The  sole 
is  built  up  of  three 
thicknesses  of 
leather,  that  is,  a 
heavy,  coarse  strip 
lined  above  and 
below  with  thin 
leather.  At  the 
heel  two  additional 
thicknesses  of  the 
thin  leather  are 
added  below. 
These  are  all  sewed 
together  by  three  lines  of  stitching,  in  which  the  sewing  is  done,  not 
with  thread,  but  with  a  string  of  leather  one-eighth  of  an  inch  wide, 
passing  through  the  three  soles  backward  and  forward  in  what  is  called 
a  running  stitch. 

The  upper  part  or  lacing  is  thus  effected  ;  a  strip  of  leather  2  inches 
wide  is  sewed  in  with  the  parts  of  the  sole  on  both  sides  of  the  ball 
of  the  foot,  these  are  then  slit  into  four  divisions  or  ribbons,  braided 
together  by  a  four-ply  braid  to  go  across  the  back  of  the  foot.  The 
ends  are  then  gathered  up  and  sewed  into  the  upright  ankle  straps, 
which  were  also  attached  to  the^soles  when  they  were  sewed  together. 
Between  the  two  upright  ankle  straps  a  horizontal  strap  is  carried  back 
of  the  heel  and  buckled  into  the  one  on  the  other  side.  The  toe  is 
pointed,  and  from  this  point  a  narrow  loop  of  leather  is  carried  back- 
ward over  the  back  of  the  foot  and  woven  in  strips  before  mentioned. 


Fig. 41. 

LACED  SANDAL  OF  LEATHER  FROM  AFGHANISTAN. 
Cat.  No.  13083S,  17.  S.  N.  M.     Gift  of  Barnet  Phillips. 


'Graig,  "Old-fashioned  Shoes,"  Edinburgh,  1889,  pls.xvi,xvn. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND   TRANSPORTATION.  325 

This  peculiar  attachment  of  strings  running  from  the  point  of  the  toe 
should  be  compared  with  the  similar  t'ratim-  of  some  Oriental  sandals. 
Length,  104  inches.  Gift  of  Barnet  Phillips. 

In  many  western  Asiatic  pictures  on  stone  and  pottery  and  paper  the 
men  are  wearing  buskins  or  a  kind  of  moccasin  of  greater  or  less 
height  and  thickness. 

Example  No.  153347  is  a  pair  of  sandals  called  ciapal,  from  Singa- 
pore. This  is  an  ornamental  shoe,  the  parts  fastened  together  with 
rivets.  The  upper  part,  however,  preserves  the  band  between  the  toes 
made  of  a  cord  bound  with  red  morocco  and  sewed. 

An  interesting  feature  of  this  example  is  the  fact  that  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  modern  complex  sole  the  shoemaker,  instead  of  carry- 
ing his  knot  of  the  toe  strap  down  through  the  sole  and  fastening  it  off 
under  the  bottom  has  brought  it  partly  through  the  sole  and  out  again 
on  top  to  form  an  ornament.  It  might  be  well  to  remember  this  charac- 
teristic in  accounting  for  the  long-toed  shoes  worn  extensively  in  medie- 
val times.  Length,  9i  inches.  Collected  by  Hon.  Rouusevelle  Wildman. 
The  common  sandal  of  India  consists  of  (1)  a  leather  sole  of  more  than 
one  layer,  sewed  with  a  single  thong;  (2)  the  single  toe  string;  (3) 
instep  band,  meeting  the  toe  string  on  the  back  of  the  foot,  the  joint 
covered  with  large  rosette.  The  elevated  wooden  sandal,  with  toe  peg 
or  knob,  carved  and  inlaid,  is  here  also  perhaps  under  Mohammedan 
or  Aryan  influence. 

In  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  there  are  a  pair  of  chaplies  or  sandals 
worn  in  Kashmir,  India,  No.  164944.  They  are  said  by  Dr.  W.  L. 
Abbott  to  be  exceedingly  comfortable.  They  consist  of  the  sole,  the 
toe  strap,  the  upper  and  the  heel  strap,  similar  to  No.  130835.  A  stock- 
ing or  sock  of  soft  leather  is  worn  with  these  sandals;  it  is  made  of 
soft  dressed  sheepskin,  and  has  two  nearly  equal  divisions  in  front  for 
the  toes.  The  sole  is  a  separate  piece  of  leather.  The  vamp  and  the 
quarters  are  sewed  on  to  the  sole  as  in  a  European  shoe.  The  divided 
toe  is  to  be  compared  with  the  Japanese  type.  Dr.  Abbott  says  that 
the  socks  are  generally  used  without  the  split  toes,  and  the  brass  eyelets 
or  grommets  are  inserted  for  the  lacing.  This  last  should  be  regarded 
as  a  European  production.  It  is  an  Aryan  type  of  shoe,  and  it  reminds 
one  of  the  form  in  vogue  in  Europe.  Length,  12£  inches.  Gift  of  I  >r. 
W.  L.  Abbott.  In  Dr.  Abbott's  collection  the  moccasin  like  sole  with 
puckered  margin  is  common  on  boots.  The  Museum  is  further  indebted 
to  Dr.  Abbott  for  a  pair  of  woman's  low  boots  from  Leh  Ladak,  N<>. 
175104,  woolen  throughout,  in  many  colors  and  patches,  toes  turned  up 
and  pointed;  a  pair  of  children's  pabboos,  same  materials  and  style, 
No.  175105;  boots  or  chirroks  from  Yarkand  and  worn  by  both  sexes, 
No.  175118.  These  last  have  white  leather  soles  turned  up  two  inches, 
the  long,  brown  legs  are  inserted  and  blind  stitched  to  the  sole.  There 
is  a  loop  on  the  back  of  the  sole  for  a  lacing.  The  leg  and  sole  unite 
without  intervention  of  an  upi>er.  From  Baltistan  Dr.  Abbott  sends 


326 


REPORT   OP   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 


boots  of  like  type  but  wretchedly  made  with  leather  soles  patched  and 
coarsely  puckered,  the  tops  being  of  the  coarsest  kind  of  woolen  fab- 
ric, No.  164978. 

The  chapli,  or  shoe  of  Bombay,  is  a  mitten  for  the  foot,  having  a  sep- 
arate stall  for  the  first  toe.  This  shoe  exists  as  a  stocking  in  the 
Himalayas  and  the  Kashmir  and  also  in  Japan,  where  the  sandal  with 
toe  string  demands  such  inside  wear. 

Example  No.  16695  is  a  leather  shoe  worn  by  the  Telugus,  in  south- 
ern India,  consisting  of  three  layers  of  very  coarse  leather  sewed 
together  with  a  white  leather  thong  in  the  same  stitch  as  most  of  the 
examples  from  this  region.  The  great  toe  is  inclosed  in  a  separate  loop. 
Two  small  straps  pass  from  the  front  backward  between  toes  1-2  and  4-5, 
and  a  broad  band  is  attached  to  the  sole  on  either  side  of  the  arch  of 
the  foot  and  passes  over  the  instep ;  the  two  narrow  straps  from  the  front 
are  inserted  through  this  band.  This  is  a  very  ".oarse  piece  of  work. 

Length,  8£  inches.  In  this  connection  it 
should  be  noted  that  in  the  sandals  from 
East  Africa  there  are  two  toe  straps,  one 
between  the  first  and  second  toe  and  one 
between  the  fourth  and  fifth. 

The  collections  of  Hon.  W.  W.  Rockhill  in 
the  U.  S.  National  Museum  admirably  show 
some  of  the  transitions  of  the  Tibetan  foot 
wear.  In  the  rudest  form  there  is  a  clumsy 
combination  of  the  turned-up  and  puckered 
sole  with  the  vamp,  just  as  in  the  Eskimo 
sealskin  boot.  Above  the  vamp  is  the  boot 
leg  with  fore  and  hind  seam  and  any  number 
of  transverse  seams.  This  part  is  coarsely 
lined  with  woolen  cloth. 

The  Koko  Nor  boot,  on  the  contrary,  pro- 
ceeds upon  another  plan.  Coarsely  it  is  a 
boot  in  all  essential  points,  in  fact  a  Chinese  shoe  with  thicker  soles  and 
leather  top  and  an  additional  sole  of  leather  beneath  (fig  42).  This 
type  may  be  seen  in  various  parts  of  the  Chinese  Empire  and  represents 
the  climax  of  the  art  there. 

Other  specimens  in  this  same  collection  are  worthy  of  study.  Example 
No.  167179,  No.  5  in  Rockhill's  plate  in  his  "Mongolia  and  Tibet,"  page 
14,  is  a  llama  boot  with  top  of  red  russian  leather  stamped  with  small 
checkerwork.  Only  one  seam,  and  that  in  the  back ;  but  on  one  side  of 
the  front  half  a  vamp  is  inserted,  making  a  seam  on  top  of  the  foot  and 
down  diagonally  on  one  side.  The  toe  is  the  regular  Chinese  form, 
with  projection.  To  unite  this  top  with  the  sole  the  lower  edge  of  the 
top  is  bound  with  a  strip  of  green  leather,  like  a  welt,  only  the  margin 
turns  out  instead  of  in.  The  sole  consists  of  two  parts,  a  thick  upper 
layer  of  felted  yak  hair  quilted  together  an  inch  thick  and  bound  also 


Fig.  42. 

KOKO  NOR  BOOT. 

Cat.  No.  131072,  U.  S.  N  M.     Collected  by  W 
W.  Rockhill. 


EXPLANATION     OF     PLATE    2, 


BOOTS  OF  TIBET  AND  NEIGHBORING  REGIONS. 

In  examples  brought  to  the  United  States  National  Museum  by  Mr.  W.  W.  Rock- 
hill  and  Dr.  W.  L.  Abbott  are  to  be  studied  the  endeavors  of  the  bootmaker  to  secure 
warmth,  protection,  and  durability  in  relation  to  environment.  The  Chinese  com- 
pound and  padded  sole,  the  hyperborean  turned  up  and  puckered  sole,  the  uppers 
of  cloth,  felt,  and  leather,  the  legs  with  several  tops,  and  the  garters  are  in  great 
variety.  Some  elements  are  original,  some  Siberian,  and  others  are  derived  from 
China,  Mongolia,  and  from  Turkestan. 

Fig.  1.  TIBETAN  BOOT  AND  GARTER.  Sole  of  stiff,  white  yak  leather,  turned  up 
all  around  as  in  Siberian  and  Eskimo  boots  and  puckered  very  little. 
Upper  of  several  thicknesses  of  white  cotton  cloth,  closely  quilted 
together  and  attached  to  the  sole  by  running  stitches,  short  on  the  outer 
side  and  long  on  the  inside.  There  are  three  parts  to  the  leg;  one  of  very 
coarse,  garnet,  woolen  cloth  called  "  truk;"  one,  of  gaudy  striped  flan- 
nel; and  the  other,  of  blue  cotton  cloth.  Continuous  with  a  gore  in  front 
of  the  upper,  there  is  an  opening  along  these  three  tops,  and  into  this  is 
inserted  an  ornamental  stripe  of  different-colored  woolen  stuffs.  Lining, 
of  very  coarse  woolen  cloth,  woven  diagonally.  Length  10  inches.  Col- 
lected by  W.  W.  Rockhill. 

(Cat.  No.  131045,  U.S.N.M.) 

Fig.  2.  TIBETAN  BOOT  AND  GARTER.  Similar  in  design  to  the  specimen  shown  in 
fig.  1  ,  with  sole  of  white  yak  hide  whipped  on  to  the  upper,  which  is  of 
black  leather  run  on  to  the  woolen  top.  In  this  specimen  also  is  a 
series  of  tops  in  different  colors,  with  insertion  or  embroidery  worked 
into  the  slit  in  front  of  the  leg  and  upper.  Length  10  inches.  Collected 
by  W.  W.  Rockhill. 

(Cat.  No.  131045  (a),  U.  S.  N.  M.) 

Fig.  8.  TIBETAN  BOOT.  Made  of  cowhide,  after  the  Chinese  pattern.  Sole,  of  sev- 
eral thicknesses,  attached  by  an  ingenious  sort  of  welt  which  is  sewed 
to  the  upper  and  joined  to  the  under  layers  by  another  row  of  sewing 
deeper  in.  The  parts  are  generally  fastened  together  at  the  heel  and 
front  by  enormous  nails  which  are  clinched  on  the  inside.  The  upper 
is  attached  to  the  leg  by  a  double  piping  of  leather  between  them.  In 
the  seam  that  extends  from  the  front  of  the  toe,  far  up  on  the  leg,  occurs 
also  a  double  piping,  and  the  edges  of  the  leather  are  turned  outward  in 
the  seam.  Worn  on  the  borders  of  Koko  Nor.  Length  11  inches.  Col- 
lected by  W.  W.  Rockhill. 

(Cat.  No.  131072,  U.  S.  N.  M.) 

FIG.  4.  TIBETAN  BOOT.—  SIBERIAN  TYPE.  The  sole  is  of  yak  rawhide  with  the 
hair  on.  It  is  turned  up  and  slightly  puckered,  pointed  and  bossed  in 
front.  The  upper  is  of  dressed  leather  and  fitted  inside  the  margin  of  the 
sole  and  attached  by  blind  stitching.  The  leg  consists  of  three  tops;  the 
first  is  of  yellow  leather  fitted  inside  the  upper  and  backstitched;  the 
second  is  of  light-brown  leather,inserted  inside  the  first,  and  sewed  over 
and  over:  the  third  is  of  coarse  leather  with  the  flesh  side  out.  The 
upper  and  ail  of  the  tops  are  split  for  the  insertion  of  several  narrow 
bands  or  pipings  of  colored  leather.  In  this  regard  the  specimen  should 
be  compared  with  many  beautiful  examples  from  Alaska,  secured  by  E. 
W.  Nelson.  One  of  these  is  mentioned  on  page  340  (Cat.  No.  43:545). 
The  lining  is  of  coarse  woolen  cloth.  Collected  by  W.  W.  Rockhill. 


(Cat.  No. 


U.S.N.M.) 


Report  of  National  Museum,  1894.-  Mason 


PLATE  2. 


BOOTS  OF  TIBET  AND  NEIGHBORING  REGIONS. 

Kockhill   "  Notes  on  the  Ethnology  of  Tibet,"  PI.  2,  Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution    (U.  S.  National 

Museum),  ]-:>:;. 


TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION.  327 

about  the  margin  with  green  leather.  The  under  sole  is  a  thick  piece 
of  hard  leather,  attached  to  the  upper  sole  and  the  top  by  a  stitching  of 
stout  twine  that  passes  down  through  all  and  back,  holding  the  parts 
together.  The  ornamentation  is  worked  on  the  surface  in  various  colors 
of  narrow  silk  braid.  There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  originality  in  the 
Tibetan  foot  clothing.  Here  Mongol  elements  obtrude;  there  Chinese 
and  frequently  Russian  influence  obscures  all  the  otheis.  One  may  see 
in  Lapland  and  Finland  characteristics  of  boots  suggestive  of  Tibet, 
and  again  among  the  Eskimo  other  marks  call  them  to  mind.  As  this 
desert  land  can  not  have  been  the  prolific  source  of  cultures,  it  must  be 
the  desolate  suburb  into  which  they  have  been  driven. 

Example  No.  131045  is  a  pair  of  Tibetan  boots  (pi.  2,  fig.  1).  The  sole 
is  white  yak  rawhide,  puckered  as  in  the  Eskimo  boot.  The  upper  con 
sists  of  two  pieces  of  white  cotten  cloth  doubled  several  times,  united  at 
the  toe  and  at  the  heel,  about  2£  inches  high.  On  the  top  of  this  upper  a 
rectangular  space  has  been  cut  out  from  the  instep  down.  The  top  of 
the  boot  is  of  red  woolen  cloth  called  truk  and  is  sewed  on  the  margin  of 
this  upper,  and  also  fills  the  rectangular  space  adorned  with  insertions 
of  white  and  green  and  red.  The  red  truk  top  is  continued  in  a  strip 
up  to  the  margin  of  the  boot  leg.  Above  the  red  top  is  a  broad  band 
of  green  woolen  material,  and  above  this  a  baud  of  blue  cotton  stuff. 
Inside  of  this  complicated  top  is  sewed  a  lining  of  very  coarse  woolen 
blanketing  in  diagonal  weaving.  The  boot  leg  is  split  open  at  the  back 
down  as  far  as  the  upper  margin  of  the  red  top.  Length,  11  inches; 
height  of  upper,  2  inches;  height  of  red  flannel  top,  4  inches;  height 
of  green  top,  5  inches;  height  of  blue  top,  4  inches.1 

Example  No.  131202  is  a  pair  of  shoes  from  Mongolia,  made  of  leather 
and  puckered  in  front,  drawn  and  sewed  together  in  a  T-shaped  seam 
at  the  back  of  the  heel,  a  flap  being  turned  up  and  fastened  down. 
The  vamp  is  a  piece  of  leather  fitting  under  the  margin  of  the  crimped 
portion  and  bound  to  it  by  the  puckering  string.  This  rude  example 
must  be  compared  with  the  example  (No.  20797)  from  Sitka,  being  sim- 
ilar to  it  in  the  puckering  of  the  front  and  the  peculiar  formation  of  the 
heel  and  the  vamp.  There  is  no  heelpiece  sewed  on  above,  as  in  the 
Sitka  specimen.  Length,  11  inches.  Collected  by  W.  W.  Rockhill. 

Example  No.  131044  is  a  pair  of  sandals  from  Sechuan,  made  of  bast 
upon  four  warp  cords,  with  filaments  of  straw.  The  sole  is  woven  in 
wicker-work.  In  passing  across,  the  outer  threads  are  finely  twisted, 
but  across  the  middle  of  the  sole  above  and  below  they  are  left  plain, 
and  on  the  bottom  are  cut  off  at  each  turn  just  below  and  parallel  with 
the  margin  all  around,  leaving  a  sort  of  fringe  work  or  tuft.  At  the  heel 
and  toe  the  cords  forming  the  outer  margin  of  the  warp  are  turned  up 
for  an  inch  or  two  and  wrapped  with  twine  or  with  braid.  Upright 
strands  to  the  number  of  three  or  more  extend  for  an  inch  or  two  along 
the  outside -of  the  great  toe,  the  little  toe,  and  at  the  sides  of  the  heel. 


Figured  in  Rockhill's  "Journey  through  Mongolia  and  Tibet." 


328  REPORT   OP   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 

Through  these  are  rove  the  long  lacing  which  is  tied  above  the  instep. 
As  regards  the  upper  lacing,  this  shoe  should  be  compared  with  No. 
131198  from  Kansu,  China,  collected  by  W.  W.  Rockhill.  Length,  11 
inches. 

In  most  respects  these  two  examples  are  like  No.  116211  (p.  331),  from 
Yokohama,  Japan,  collected  by  S.  Kneeland. 

Mr.  Rockhill  brought  from  Kansu,  in  northwestern  China,  a  pair  of 
shoes  (No.  131198,  U.  S.  N.  M.)  that  represent  a  type.  The  sole  is  made  of 
sennit  or  braid  of  hemp  strands,  half  an  inch  or  more  wide.  Beginning 
in  the  central  line  of  the  sole  the  sennit  is  coiled  backward  and  for- 
ward six  or  more  times.  The  whole  fabric  is  held  together  by  sewing 
through  from  side  to  side  with  stout  twine.  Sailors  make  the  same 
kind  of  soles  from  manila  yarn  braided  into  sennit  and  the  very  same 
sole  exists  in  Spain  and  Peru.  The  upper  part  of  the  shoe  is  a  very 
complicated  affair,  but  the  style  is  common.  At  the  toe  and  the  heel 
stout  cords  are  inserted  between  the  last  two  turns  of  the  sennit  and 
extend  in  front  up  over  the  middle  toes,  dividing  on  the  back  of  the 
foot  below  the  instep.  In  the  rear  these  cords,  to  the  number  of  five 
or  more,  extend  well  up  on  the  heel.  Both  sets,  front  and  rear,  are 
sewed  together  with  a  common  weaving  finer  cord.  The  lacing  of  the 
shoe  is  rove  through  loops  at  the  ends  of  the  upright  cords.  At  the 
sides  of  the  toes  and  of  the  heel  a  series  of  small  cords  pass  from  the 
sole  up  to  the  lacing,  which  is  doubled  and  are  neatly  woven  into 
it.  In  many  Chinese  and  Korean  shoes  this  system  of  upright  cords 
like  a  delicate  balustrade  is  common.  In  the  U.  S.  National  Museum 
there  is  an  Athapascan  Indian  moccasin  upon  the  bottoms  of  which  a 
sole  of  coiled  sennit  has  been  securely  sewed.  Mr.  Rockhill  says  that 
you  rarely  see  Chinese  go  barefooted.  The  poorest  of  them  wear  straw 
sandals.  This  is  for  northern  China,  but  Dr.  Graves  says  that  many 
of  the  coolies  go  barefoot.  Many  wear  sandals,  which  on  the  road  do 
not  last  very  long,  but  they  are  cheap  and  may  be  found  at  stalls  and 
shops  by  the  roadside.  Others  wear  leather  sandals  that  are  more 
lasting. 

Example  No.  55864  is  a  pair  of  shoes  from  China,  each  consisting  of 
two  parts,  the  sole  with  its  lacings  and  the  upper.  This  is  a  very 
important  specimen  in  connection  with  No.  116211  and  No.  131044  (fig.  43) 
because  it  explains  the  use  of  the  pointed  portions  at  the  heel  and  at 
the  toe.  The  sole  part  is  built  up  of  rice  straw  upon  four  twines  laid 
down  in  tlie  same  way  as  No.  116211  and  the  warp  is  of  coarsely  woven 
rice  straw.  The  projection  at  the  toe,  the  loops  at  the  sides  of  the  toes 
and  at  the  sides  of  the  heel  are  precisely  as  in  the  examples  mentioned, 
but  the  upper  part  of  the  shoe  is  a  slipper  made  of  plantain  leaf  folded 
together  ingeniously  to  tit  the  foot.  This  slipper  also  tits  into  the  straw 
sole  and  is  lashed  on  by  means  of  lacing  passing  over  the  toe,  through 
the  loops,  and  above  the  heel.  In  looking  at  the  ordinary  sandal  of 
this  kind  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  it  could  be  made  comfortable  on  the 


EXPLANATION   OF   PLATE  3. 
KOREAN  SHOES  AND  SANDALS. 

The  intermediate  position  of  Korea  with  reference  to  Mongolia,  China,  and 
Japan,  as  well  as  the  geological  and  social  conditions  about  the  people,  produce 
a  great  many  kinds  of  footwear.  In  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  are  the  following 
varieties: 

1.  The  Chinese  low  shoe  with  thick  sole  made  fine  or  coarse,  and  often  foxed 
with  leather  or  cloth  of  different  colors. 

2.  The  stilted  shoe  with  endless  variety  of  form  in  Japan,  but  having  an  upper 
more  like  a  sabot,  modeled  after  the  Chinese  low  shoe. 

:5.  The  straw  openwork  low  shoe  (chip-seki).  This  is  shown  in  three  examples 
on  the  plate.  The  woven  sole  is  similar  to  that  of  the  Japanese  and  Chinese. 
The  upper  never  has  strings  between  the  toes  nor  loops  about  the  margin  of  the 
sole,  but  is  built  up  of  any  number  of  vertical  twine  filaments  united  at  the  top  by 
means  of  a  horizontal  twine.  As  will  be  seen  in  the  plate,  rags  cooperate  with  the 
straw  twine  to  form  a  padding.  The  rope  on  the  back  of  the  foot  is  attached  to 
upright  ankle  loops  and  a  rope  heel-band  wrapped  with  bast  or  cloth.  There  are 
several  examples  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  collected  by  Ensign  J.  B.  Bernadou, 
U.  S.  N. 


Rep'.*,  of  National  Museum,  1894.— Mason. 


PLATE  3. 


i-_. 

I  i 

9  QI 


co  ~z 
u     =  r 
O    X  | 


LJ       - 

tr    ~ 
O    - 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  329 

foot,  but  this  example  explains  all  the  parts  of  the  sole.  It  is  :ilso  to 
be  noted  as  a  very  coarse,  first  step,  in  the  invention  of  the  stocking. 
Length,  13£  inches. 

One  of  the  Korean  sandals  shown  in  pi.  .'*  has  the  sole  made  of  a  warp 
of  six  coarse  cords  upon  which  is  woven  in  wicker  style  a  weft  of  twisted 
rushes.  Two  of  the  twines  extend  up  and  back  of  the  heel.  From  the 
top  of  this  extends  quite  across  the  upper  margin  of  the  foot  a  cord, 
like  a  rail  about  a  boat.  From  this  descend  to  the  sole  stout  lashing 
on  each  side  of  the  arch  of  the  foot,  and  a  close  arrangement  of  par- 
allel cords  all  around  the  front  half  of  the  foot.  There  are  no  ladings. 
A  child's  sandal  of  this  type  (No.  15114IJ,  U.  8.  N.  M.,  6  inches  long; 
Seoul)  is  identical  with  Chinese  specimens  before  described. 

Dr.  Hough  describes  and  figures  the  following  types  of  Korean 
shoes : 

(1)  Rain  clogs  or  sabots,  with  stilts  beneath.    This  feature  may  be 
traced  in  western  Asia;  the  stilted  shoe,  beautifully  inlaid  and  adorred, 
abounding  in  Persia  and  India. 

(2)  Felt  shoes,  lined  with  leather,  Chinese  types. 

(3)  Travelers'  sandals,  with  straw  soles,  upper  border  like  a  balus- 
trade connected  with  the  sole  by  many  parallel  twines.    This  class 
exists  in  many  styles,1  and  is  perfected  in  China. 

The  Japanese  sandal  with  single  toe  string  and  padded  bands  over 
the  back  of  the  foot  will  be  referred  to  as  of  Tartar  origin. 

The  Japanese  laced  sandal,  based  on  Chinese  motives,  involves  two 
types  of  manufacture,  one  for  the  sole  and  one  for  the  upper.  The 
weaving  on  the  sole  is  based  on  four  warp  filaments,  ropes,  or  bundles 
of  straw.  The  weaving  on  the  sole  is  done  with  long,  coarse  filaments 
in  wicker  style.  The  warp  being  rigid,  the  weft  presents  a  coarse 
appearance  as  in  corded  goods.  Practically,  the  shoemaker  takes  two 
bundles  of  filaments  or  two  small  ropes  more  than  twice  the  length  of 
the  foot,  doubles  them  at  the  middle,  and  unites  the  bends  at  the  toe; 
or  he  takes  one  long  rope  or  twine,  and  at  its  middle  forms  a  couple 
of  loops  3  or  more  inches  long.  The  two  halves  of  the  cord  are  carried 
forward  to  the  toe  and  beyond  it.  Here  they  are  doubled  back  and 
the  four  strands  securely  and  neatly  wrapped  together.  This  forms 

the  projecting  portion  at  the  toe,  to  be  later  mentioned  again.    The 
two  ends  are  carried  back  to  the  heel  and  crossed  at  the  starting 

point.    The  weft  of  the  sole  is  then  woven  in;  the  extended  end>  »\ 
the  warp  ropes,  a  foot  or  more  long,  will  serve  for  lacing. 

In  the  simplest  sandal   the  sole  constitutes  the  chief  part  of  the 
object.     But  in  the  development  of  the  most  beautiful  examples  there 
has  been  improvement  in  two  directions  simultaneously,  to  wit.  in  the 
workmanship  and  material  of  the  sole  and  in  the  creation  and  perfect 
mg  of  the  upper.     In  the  coarsest  sandals  the  soles  are  of  bark  or 

'Hough,  "The  Bernatlon,  Allen,  aud  Jony  Korean  Collection*  in  rtu-  I  .  s.  Vition.il 
Museum,"  Rep.  Smithsonian  I  nut.  (U.  8,  Nat.  Mns).,  IfeJU,  jil.  \\. 


330  REPORT  OF  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,  1894. 

bast,  evidently  made  in  a  few  minutes.  They  are  as  ugly  as  a  gar- 
ment could  well  be.  In  the  finest  examples,  the  bundles  of  warp  fila- 
ments are  nicely  laid  cylinders  and  the  weft  is  a  neat  and  uniform  cord 
of  rushes  or  straw. 

The  provision  of  what  in  the  modern  shoe  corresponds  to  the  welt, 
or  middle  piece  between  sole  and  upper,  has  evidently  been  the  occa- 
sion of  much  thought  among  shoemakers  in  all  ages  and  regions.  The 
material  at  once  drives  welt  makers  apart — the  workers  in  hide,  felt, 
and  the  like  taking  one  road,  the  workers  in  fiber  quite  another.  The 
Japanese  maker  of  fiber  shoes  has  two  expedients  ready  at  hand; 
he  can  utilize  the  loops  and  ends  of  his  warp  filaments  in  securing  the 
top  of  the  shoe  or  he  may,  as  he  goes  on  weaving,  gather  into  the  sel- 
vage along  its  upper  margin  loops  of  bast  or  rush  with  the  free  ends 
projecting  upward  any  distance  desired.  Indeed  this  is  done.  So 
that  at  the  finishing  of  the  sole  there  would  be  projecting  from  its 
margin  upward  a  fence  or  hedge  of  fiber  ready  to  become  twine  of  an 
open  upper  or  warp  of  a  closed  texture. 

Let  us  suppose  that  a  closed  upper  is  in  mind.  Of  these  there  are 
many  varieties,  but  they  may  be  divided  into  two,  namely,  those  with 
heels,  becoming  slippers  or  low  shoes,  and  those  without  heels.  In  the 
example  with  heels  as  many  rows  as  are  desired  of  twined  weaving  in 
rush  or  straw  or  bast  are  worked  around  on  the  warp  filaments  rising 
from  the  soles.  In  a  great  many  examples  this  weaving  is  boustrophe- 
don,  and  in  the  best  specimens  in  colored  and  uncolored  fine  filaments 
the  effect  is  that  of  chain  stitch  in  embroidery ;  but  even  in  the  coarse 
sandals  for  road  work  the  effect  of  the  weaving  is  always  pleasing. 
There  are  examples  of  this  variety  in  which  the  rows  of  twined  weaving 
forming  the  heel  equal  in  number  those  across  the  front.  In  such 
examples  the  effects  of  the  twining  are  in  bauds  and  lines  of  colored 
and  uucolored  material,  varied  with  geometric  and  diaper  patterns, 
to  which  this  style  of  technique  cleverly  lends  itself.  But  in  most 
examples  in  the  TJ.  S.  National  Museum  the  heels  are  low.  In  such, 
four  or  five  rows  of  twined  weaving  pass  entirely  around  the  sandal, 
then  the  vamp  is  woven  boustrophedon,  and  finally  a  finishing  row 
passes  entirely  around.  There  remain  now  the  whole  set  of  warps  of 
the  upper,  sticking  up  an  inch  or  more.  These  are  braided  to  form  an 
ornamental  border  and  then  turned  down  flat  inside  the  shoe.  The 
braiding  is  done  in  three  ply;  at  each  braid  one  filament  is  laid  down 
and  one  taken  up  until  the  entire  border  is  completed. 

The  heeltess  sandal  or  slipper  without  lacing  is  for  house  wear 
chiefly,  and  resembles  the  other  except  in  the  treatment  of  the  heel, 
and  may  be  dismissed  with  a  brief  mention.  In  a  pretty  example  in 
the  U.  S.  National  Museum  (No.  92861)  the  first  row  of  twined  weaving 
in  rather  coarse  twine  is  carried  entirely  around  the  margin  of  the  sole, 
but  at  the  heel  it  passes  down  and  under  the  sole  a  little  way,  and  four 
short  rows  of  this  weaving  border  the  heel,  the  last  scarcely  rising  to 


PRIMITIVE   TRAVEL   AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


331 


the  level  of  its  upper  surface.  The  upward  projecting  element*  at  tin- 
heel  are  then  inclosed  in  a  pretty  Hat  fal»rie  of  twined  weaving  bou- 
strophedon.  In  many  fine  examples  the  tip  is  a  circular  insertion  like  a 
projecting  transom,  the  weaving  is  tin-  same,  however,  only  this  hooded 
or  projecting  tip  is  always  plain  colored.  As  hinted  above,  the  motive 
in  this  type  of  shoe  is  from  the  Chinese  and  Korean  area. 

Example  No.  116211  is  from  Yokohama,  Japan  ii».  15).  These  san- 
dals are  built  on  a  warp  or  foundation  of  coarse  stiau  cord.  A  single 
cord  10  feet  long  is  doubled  in  the  middle  around  the  front  of  the  foot, 
the  two  ends  are  carried  back  the  length  of  the  foot  and  4  inches  to  form 
the  heel  loops.  Here  they  are  both  doubled  and  carried  back  between 
the  outer  border  cords  over  the  first  loop,  and  extend  out  ward  •"•<>  inches 
to  form  the  lacing.  With  the  four  warp  strands  thus  provided  for.  the 


Fig.  43. 

WICKKK  SANDAL  OF  STRAW  KBOM  YOKOHAMA,  JAPAN- 
Gil.  No.  11(121 1.  r.  S.  N.  M.      Collected  by  S.  Knrvlimd. 

weft  consists  of  a  close  wicker  weaving  of  very  slightly  twisted  bunches 
of  straw  fiber  packed  closely  together  at  the  margins  of  the  heel  and 
just  in  front  of  the  arch  of  the  foot.  On  each  side  loops  are  formed 
in  the  course  of  the  weaving  by  extending  the  weft  filaments  a  little 
way.  These  loops  extend  about  an  inch  beyond  the  border  of  the  san- 
dal. The  lacing  proceeds  from  the  tip  of  the  sandal  across  the  foot, 
through  the  loops  on  the  side,  passed  back  through  the  lieel  loops, 
and  back  again  through  the  side  loops  and  over  the  instep,  where  it  is 
tied.  These  cheap  sandals  carefully  studied  form  the  type  or  foun- 
dation characteristics  of  the  more  refined  foot  gear  of  the  Japanese. 
Length  of  sandal,  9  inches;  of  foundation  twine,  5  feet.  Collected  by 
S.  Kneeland. 

Example  No.  73084  is  a  pair  of  sandals  brought  to  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum  from  Nikko,  Japan,  by  P.  L.  .lony.  They  are  each  made  of 
two  thin  and  one  thick  piece  of  ox  hide,  closely  sewed  together  by  a 
flat  thong  of  the  same  material  near  the  edge.  The  hair  has  been  left 


332 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


upon  the  upper  layer  as  a  protection  to  the  foot.  Under  the  heel  is  a 
thin  semicircular  plate  of  iron,  which  receives  the  wear  as  the  sandal 
is  dragged  along  the  ground  in  making  the  forward  stride.  The  sandal 
is  secured  to  the  foot  by  a  round,  soft  strap,  which  passes  from  the 
sides  near  the  heel  up  over  the  back  of  the  foot  to  an  upright  piece  of 
hide  secured  to  the  sole  and  passing  between  the  first  and  second  toe. 
This  style  of  attaching  the  sandal  by  means  of  two  round,  padded 
bands  passing  from  the  thong  between  the  toes  over  the  back  of  the 
foot  to  the  margin  of  the  sole  under  the  ankle  joints  has  a  restricted  area 
in  space,  and  it  also  has  social  characteristics.  Those  of  this  type  in  the 
IT.  S.  National  Museum  collection  are  mostly  for  house  wear,  although 
the  specimens  here  described  are  for  hard  service,  and  this  style  of 

sandal  is  universal  on  the  road.  The 
trailing  heel  may  also  be  remarked  as 
an  incident  in  shoe  wearing  which  finds 
its  more  exaggerated  occurrence  in  the 
action  of  the  snowshoe  and  skee.  The 
language  of  Japan  is  believed  to  be 
Tartar.  Certainly,  the  divided  stock- 
ing, the  sandal  with  toe  string,  and  the 
high-posted  shoe  are  not  of  eastern 
Asia.  If  the  collection  in  Washington 
speaks  truly  and  comprehensively,  none 
of  these  are  used  there  outside  of  Jap- 
anese influence.  The  chapli,  the  high 
wooden  slices,  and  the  sandal  with  a 
single  toe  string  or  peg  are  not  seen 
again  after  leaving  Japan  until  the  ex- 
plorer reaches  the  Caspian  and  Aral 
drainage.  This  statement  is  subject  to 
modification,  being  based  merely  on  the 
specimens  in  hand. 

Example  No.  73091  (fig.  44)  is  from 
Tate  Yama,  Japan.  This  interesting 
specimen  of  footwear  worn  by  hunters  is  made  of  rice  straw,  and  shows 
precisely  how  the  sandal  and  the  legging  unite  in  a  very  primitive 
fashion  to  form  a  boot.  The  sole  of  this  boot  is,  in  fact,  a  sandal,  with 
five  loops  for  the  lacing  or  attachment,  one  at  the  back  of  the  heel, 
two  at  the  side  of  the  heel,  and  two  opposite  the  instep.  It  is  built 
upon  four  longitudinal  warped  cords  with  small  ropes,  and  wisps  or 
bunches  of  rice  straw  are  woven  backward  and  forward  over  this  warp 
and  form  a  sole  a  half  inch  thick.  These  four  warped  cords,  continued 
outward  from  the  heel,  form  the  two  long  heel  loops.  The  top  of  the 
boot  is  also  woven  of  bunches  of  rice  straw,  forming  a  checkered  pattern 
over  the  foot  and  around  the  heel,  in  which  the  meshes  are  about  half  an 
inch  square  (see  figs.  45-47),  just  on  a  level  with  the  instep.  These 
straws  are  left  free  for  the  boot  top,  excepting  in  four  places  they  are 


Fig.  44. 

SANDAL  AND  BOOT  TOP  OF  STRAW  UNITED, 

FROM  TATE  YAMA,  JAPAN. 
Cat.  No.  73091,  U.  S.  N.  M.    Collected  by  P.  L  Jouy. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AXD    TRANSPORTATION.  333 

gathered  together,  and  held  in  place  by  single  rows  of  twined  weaving, 
absolutely  identical  with  the  stitch  common  all  over  America  and  in 
certain  parts  of  Africa. 

The  lacing  on  this  foot  gear  is  worthy  of  study.  The  loop  at  the 
heel  is  formed  of  two  long  bends  braided  together  and  fastened  oil 
in  the  sole.  There  is  a  lacing  of  two-ply  coarse  twine,  made  of  straw, 
on  each  side;  the  long,  loose  end  passes  first  through  the  loop  on  the 
side  of  the  heel,  then  through  the  long  loop  at  the  back  of  the  heel, 
then  back  again  through  number  one,  then  through  the  loop  below 
the  instep,  then  twined  with  the  extended  end  of  tin-  lacing  belong- 
ing to  the  other  side  of  the  boot.  The  two  lacings  form  a  tour-ply 
cord  or  rope  across  the  foot  knotted  into  the  fabric  just  below  the 
instep  on  the  back  of  the  foot,  and  extending  down  to  the  loops  below 
the  instep  on  the  sides  where  it  is  fastened  off  into  the  sole.  This 
knot  on  the  back  of  the  foot  is  the  extremity  of  a  toe  string  passing 
down  through  vamp  and  sole,  and  in  the  simple  Japanese  sandal  is 
to  be  found  under  the  tip  of  the  toe.  The  loose  ends,  after  being 
drawn  tight  through  the  loops,  are  brought  together  and  tied  at  the 
instep.  Length  of  sole,  11  inches;  height  of  boot,  14  inches.  Collected 
by  P.  L.  Jouy. 

Example  No.  150644  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  is  a  pair  of  sandals 
(shntukeri),  made  of  walnut  bark,  from  the  Ainos  of  Piratori,  Yezo, 
collected  by  Romyn  Hitchcock.  They  are  woven  on  the  plan  of  the 
Japanese  sandal,  with  loops  on  the  side  and  no  toe  strap.  In  most  of 
the  specimens  of  Aino  sandals  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  and  shown 
in  their  photographs,  there  is  a  flat  sole  of  textile  or  hide  and  a  toe 
strap  connected  with  two  padded  bands  passing  over  the  top  of  the 
foot  and  attached  to  the  sole  just  under  the  arch  of  the  foot  after  the 
manner  of  the  Japanese.1 

Example  No.  150637  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  is  a  pair  of  Aino 
boots  from  Yezo,  collected  by  Romyn  Hitchcock.  They  are  made  of 
tishskin.  The  foot  is  not  unlike  that  of  a  moccasin.  The  leg  is  of 
several  upright  strips  sewed  together  in  all  but  one  seam  to  admit  the 
foot.  Around  the  top  is  a  band  of  material  doubled.  It  is  interesting 
to  note  that  they  are  fastened  about  the  ankles  by  a  cord  attached 
to  a  loop  on  the  back  of  the  boot  precisely  where  the  loop  occurs  on 
the  sandal  in  figure  43.2 

The  U.  S.  National  Museum  possesses  a  large  collection  of  Finnish 
ethnographic  material  collected  by  Consul  -General  Crawford.  Among 
the  specimens  are  a  number  of  shoes  in  braided  or  woven  birch-bark 
strips  or  splints.  Dr.  Gustave  Ret/ius  contributed  to  the  Revue 
d'Ethnographie  a  memoir  on  the  uses  of  birch  bark  among  the  Finns. 
In  this  memoir  are  figured :I  three  forms  or  fashions  of  foot  gear  that 

:Hitchcock,  " The  AinoB of  Ye/.o,  Japan. "  Ur|>.  Mmtlis<mi:m  lust.  (U.  8.  Nat.  Mu»  ), 
1890,  plH.  i.xxxix,  xcn,  \«  \  - 
slbid.,  pi.  xcvn. 
3 Rev.  d'Ethnog.,  Paris,  1882, 1,  pp.  81-9& 


334 


REPORT   OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


are  here  reproduced  (figs.  45,  46,  47).    The  first  and  simplest  is  an 
attempt  in  birch-bark  checker  weaving  to  produce  a  sandal  that  will 

hang  on  to  the  fo<5t  or  will  roll 
up  at  the  sides  and  incase  the 
toes  and  the   heel  and   furnish 
loops  for  lacing  if  desired.    This 
is  one  way  of  reaching  the  result 
achieved  by  the    Africans   and 
Peruvians  in  the  use  of  rawhide 
and  the  Ainos  and  Japanese  in 
the  use  of  bast  and  other  vegeta- 
ble fiber.     A  bit  of  art  is  thrown 
in  by  alternating  the  outer  and 
the    inner    side    of   the    bark. 
The  next  step  in  the  evolution 
is  a  low  shoe  or  moccasin  in  bark.    The 
Pueblo  Indians  likewise  weave  shoes  or 
moccasins  in  the  split  leaf  of  the  yucca. 
The  third  step  is  the  production  of  a 
boot  reaching  as  high  up  the  leg  as  the 
rigidity  of  the  material    would    admit. 
There  is  no  preparation  for  a  lacing  on 
these  specimens.   These  examples  should 
be  compared  with  the  boots  from  Tate 
Yama,  Japan  (fig.  44),  collected  by  P. 
L.  Jouy.     The  question  of  early  Finnish 
influence  in   northern  Japan  might  be 
raised. 

The  fishskin  boot  may  be  traced  en- 
tirely around  the  salmon- 
fishing  area.  Speaking  of 
che  Amur  people  and  their 
use  of  fishskiu  as  water- 
proof material,  Bavenstein 
says  that  though  danger- 
ous as  a  constant  article  of 
food,  the  fish  of  these  rivers 
(Usuri  and  Amur)  are  in- 
valuable on  account  of  the 
imperishable  garments  made 
of  their  skins.  In  boots  made 

OI      SUCh      1  1  S  1  1  S  l\  1  1  1  S       yOU     may 

wade  through    rivulets    and 


Figs  45  46,47. 

SLIPPERS,  LOW  SHOES,  AND  BOOTS  MADE  OF  PLAITED  BIRCH 

BAKK,  FINLAND. 


,  Ret 


the  Revue  d'F.thno.raph.e. 


dry  ground,  equally  protected  against  the  cold  and  moisture.1 

1  Raveustein,  "Russians  on  the  Amur,"  London,  1861,  p.  96. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  335 

Bush  found  among  the  Yakuts,  who  are  Tartar,  that  their  torbossas  or 
boots  of  heavy  tanned  deerskin  were  made  -to  tit  the  foot  snugly  and 
at  the  toe  to  arch  over  the  foot  like  the  bow  of  a  skate."  Welts  are 
sewed  in  the  seams,  and  "  at  the  ankle  two  very  long:  and  broad  strips  of 
buckskin  are  fastened,  to  be  wound  snugly  about  the  leg  half  way  up 
to  the  knee."1  These  characteristics  agree  with  the  Kashmir  and 
Tibetan  specimens  of  Rock  hi  11  and  Abbott. 

According  to  Lansdell,  Tartar  men  and  women  wear  top  boots  and 
generally  leather  goloshes  over  them,  so  that  on  entering  a  house  or 
mosque  they  have  only  to  slip  off  the  goloshes  to  secure  clean  shoes.2 
There  are  specimens  of  these  in  Dr.  W.  L.Abbott's  collection  in  the  U. 
S.  National  Museum. 

The  torbossas  of  the  Kauichatkans  are  fur  boots  reaching  to  the 
knees,  made  of  the  skin  on  the  deer's  legs,  as  being  tougher  and  hav- 
ing shorter  hair,  soled  with  bearskin  or  sealskin,  tied  about  the  knee 
and  ankle  with  thongs.  Chazees,  or  fur  socks,  are  made  of  dog,  rein- 
deer, or  wolf  skin,  worn  with  the  fur  next  the  foot,  and  are  not  intended 
to  fit  snugly. :t 

The  foot  covering  of  the  Chukchi  consists  of  reindeer  or  sealskin, 
which  above  the  foot  are  fastened  to  the  trousers  in  the  way  common 
among  the  Lapps.  The  soles  are  of  walrus  skin  or  bearskin,  and  have 
the  hair  side  inward.  On  the  other  part  of  the  pantaloons  the  hair 
is  outward.  Within  the  shoes  are  sealskin  stockings  and  hay.4  The 
summer  coverings  of  the  lower  extremities  are  often  as  long  in  the  leg 
as  our  sea  boots. 

From  whatever  cause,  the  fact  remains  that  there  js  no  break 
between  the  foot  covering  of  the  Chukchi  and  that  of  their  eastern 
neighbors  in  Asia  and  northwestern  America.  The  Eskimo  exam- 
ples will  be  studied  geographically,  commencing  with  the  west.  Mr. 
John  Murdoch  has  with  great  care  worked  out  the  pattern,  the  mak- 
ing, and  the  varieties  of  the  Point  Barrow  boots,  and  his  types  may 
be  used  in  studying  the  rest.s  The  boots  and  shoes  of  the  Point 
Barrow  Eskimo  have  uppers  of  two  kinds — those  with  the  hair  on  and 
those  made  of  black  dressed  sealskin  fitted  to  heelless,  crimped  mocca- 
sin soles  of  different  material.  The  crimped  soles  are  of  three  sorts  of 
material: 

(1)  White,  urine  tanned,  snow-bleached  .seal  skin  for   winter  wear 
when  the  snow  is  dry;  not  suited  for  rough  and  damp  salt-water  ice. 

(2)  Sealskin  dressed  with  the  hair  on  ami  worn  flesh  side  out;  best 
for  summer  boot  soles  on  wet  ground  and  melting  snow. 

1  Bush,  •  •  KVi m !••••]•.  Dogs,  ami  Mm  \vsln  •••>,"  New  York,  1871,  p.  161. 
'Lansdell,  "Through  Siberia,"  Boston,  1882,  pp.  58-59.  * 
3  Bush,  "Reindeer,  I>ogB,  and  Snowshoea,"  New  York,  1871,  p.  61. 
'Nordenskiold,  "Voyage  of  the  Vega,"  1881,  II,  pp.  98-99. 

Murdoch,  "Ethnological  Reunite  of  the  Point  Barrow  K\|M-ditimi."  Ninth  Ann. 
Rrp.  Miircau  of  Ethnology,  tigs.  72-82. 


336 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1894. 


(3)  Waterproof  soles  of  oil-dressed  walrus,  bearded  seal,  polar  bear, 
or  best  of  all  white  whale.1 

The  cutting  out  and  making  of  the  boot,  as  well  as  the  process  of 
turning  up  and  crimping  the  sole,  are  minutely  worked  out  by  Murdoch. 
Example  No.  74042  (fig.  48)  is  a  pair  of  woman's  pantaloons  (kumuii) 
from  Point  Barrow,  Alaska,  collected  by  Captain  Ray  and  carefully  illus- 
trated by  Murdoch.    They  may  be  thus  described :  Soles  of  white  tanned 

seal  skin  turned  up  and  puckered  or 
crimped  about  the  margin.  Uppers 
of  deerskin  in  two  pieces  (vamp  and 
quarter),  trousers  of  deerskin,  made 
from  the  short-haired  skin  from  the 
deer's  legs.  The  pantaloon  in  America 
is  found  only  among  western  Eskimo 
and  Athapascans.  Murdoch  says  that 
these  pantaloons  are  always  worn  with 
the  hair  out,  and  usually  over  a  pair  of 
underpantaloons  of  the  same  shape 
but  of  softer  skin  with  longer  hair, 
worn  next  the  skin  with  stocking  feet. 
In  summer  the  inner  ones  are  worn, 
the  feet  being  protected  by  sealskin 
waterproof  boots,  shown  in  pi.  4.2 

Example  No.  56750,  from  Point  Bar- 
row, is  a  man's  boot  (fig.  49)  with  deer- 
skin leg  and  seal-skin  sole.  The  leg 
and  upper  are  in  four  pieces — back, 
two  sides,  and  front.  There  are 
strings  attached  to  the  sole  on  the 
margin  below  the  ankle  joint.  These 
are  brought  up  above  the  heel  around 
in  front  and  laced  about  the  lower  part 
of  the  leg.  Collected  by  the  Eay  ex- 
pedition. Murdoch,  in  describing  the 
structure  of  this  specimen,  says  that 
this  is  a  type  of  the  everyday  pattern. 
The  bottom  is  cut  off'  accurately  to  fit 
the  sole;  there  is  no  insertion  of  orna- 
mental bands  or  piping,  but  they  are  often  made  of  a  pattern  like  that 
of  the  lower  part  of  the  women's  pantaloons,  that  is,  with  the  uppers 
separate  from  the  leg  pieces,  shown  in  fig.  48  and  in  pi.  4,  fig.  6. 


Tig.  48. 

WOMAN'S  PANTALOONS,  USED  BY  THE  ESKIMO 
OF  POINT  BAREOW,  ALASKA. 

From  a  figure  in  Murdoch's  "  Ethnological  Kesults  of  the 
Expedition,"  Ninth  Annual  Report  of  the 
ology. 


Point  Bi 
Bureau  of  F.th 


Cat   No.  74042,  U.S.N.  M. 


1  Of.  Murdoch,  "  Ethnological  Results  of  the  Point  Barrow  Expedition,"  Ninth  Ann. 
Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  p.  130,  referring  to  Crant/.,  i.  ]>.  167,  and  Simpson,  pp. 
242-266. 

"Ibid.,  p.  127,  with  references  to  Petitot,  Bessels,  Egede,  Crantz,  Parry,  and 
Franklin. 


Report  of  National  Museum,  1894.  -  Mason. 


PLATE  4 


ESKIMO  SHOES  AND  BOOTS  FROM  NORTON  SOUND  REGION  AND  MACKENZIE  RIVER 

DISTRICT. 


EXPLANATION    OF    PLATE    4. 


ESKIMO  SHOES  AND  BOOTS  FROM  NORTON  SOUND  REGION  AND  MACKENZIE  RIVER  DISTRICT. 

Fig.  1.  SrMMEK  BOOTKKS.  Puckered  sole  of  white  sealskin:  upper  and  leg  of 
<e;il  pelt,  hair  side  in;  gore  in  front  of  seal  skin  painted  red.  The  lacings, 
of  seal  pelt,  embroidered  in  quill  work,  are  attached  to  the  margin  of  the 
gore  on  the  top  of  the  foot,  pass  through  loops  under  the  ankles,  cross 
on  the  back  of  the  shoe,  and  are  tied  in  front.  Collected  at  Norton  Bay 
by  W.  H.  Dall. 

i  ('at.  No.  7W1,  U.8.N.M.) 

Fig.  2.  Low  SIIOKS  OK  Bi.i-.M  in .i>  SKAI.SKIN.  Puckered  well  up  over  the  foot. 
These  shoes  have  a  gore  and  tongue  piece  on  the  top  of  the  foot  and 
drawstrings  about  the  upper  margin,  suggestive  of  Athapascan  mocca- 
sins. Collected  from  Anderson  River.  Mackenzie  District,  Canada,  by 
R.  MacFarlane. 

i  Cut.  Xo.LlKiii.r.s.  X.M.i 

Fig.  :?.  WINTKR  BOOTS.  The  sole  and  footing  are  of  sweated  seal  hide,  bleached 
on  the  snow,  hair  sid"  out  and  neatly  puckered.  Above  this  a  band  of 
dark  hide,  with  the  hair  side  out .  is  s  -wed  in  a  water-tight  joint.  This 
is  attached  to  the  deerskin  top  by  means  of  a  puckered  seam.  The  top 
is  ornamented  with  tabs  and  strips  of  hide  neatly  inserted  vertically. 
Collected  from  the  Anderson  River  Eskimo  by  R.  MacFarlane. 
(Cat.N«>.:WKU'.H.N.M.) 

Fig.  4.  WINTKK  BOOTS.  These  are  similar  to  those  shown  in  tig.  :{.  but  are  more 
ornamental.  Iwnds  of  skin  with  hair  on  ln-ing  inserted  vertically.  Gift 
of  R.  MacFarlane. 

(Cat.  No. 3979,  U.  S.  N.  M.) 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  4— Continued. 

Fig.  .">.  MAN'S  SEALSKIN*  WATERPROOF  BOOTS.  The  puckered  soles  of  sealskin  are 
cured  with  the  hair  on  and  are  unhaired  l>y  friction.  The  uppers  are 
of  unhaired  oiled  hide.  The  seam  across  the  instep  is  the  joint  of  the 
two  edges  of  the  top,  made  almost  of  one  piece.  There  is  a  drawstring 
in  a  hem  around  the  upper  margin.  Gift  of  C.  P.  Gaudet.  From 
Anderson  River,  Canada. 
i  Oat,  No.  IXtt.T.  S.  N.  M.  I 

Fig.  fi.  MAN'S  WATERPROOF  BOOTS.  Sole,  of  black  seal  hide  puckered  and  run  on 
to  a  narrow  strip  of  soft  white  hide  all  aroTind;  top,  of  deer  pelt  in  two 
pieces:  leg,  of  vertical  strips  of  deer  pelt;  border,  of  several  strips  of 
variously  colored  pelt;  all  from  parts  of  the  Caribou  skin,  selected  for 
ornamental  effect.  Between  this  border  and  the  boot  top  is  a  fringe  of 
wolverine  fur.  The  connection  between  Tipper  and  top  should  be  com- 
pared with  tig.  48.  The  lacings  proceed  from  the  margin  of  the  sole 
below  the  ankle  bones,  and  are  wrapped  about  the  heel  and  the  ankle. 
Eskimo  of  Anderson  River.  Canada.  Gift  of  R.  MacFarlane. 
<  Cat.  No.  3980.  U.  8.  N .  M. ) 

Fig.  7.  ESKIMO  WOMAN'S  WINTER  BOOTS.  These  boots  have  (1)  a  sole  and  foot- 
ing of  white  sweated  sealskin,  bleached  in  the  snow,  and  puckered  nearly 
all  around;  (2)  a  narrow  upper  of  seal  hide,  flesh  side  out;  (3)  tops  of 
deerskin,  having  the  seam  ornamented  with  a  strip  of  embroidered  hide. 
There  is  a  drawstring  in  a  hem  on  the  upper  margin.  Anderson  River 
Eskimo.  Gift  of  R.  MacFarlane. 
(Cat.No.3983,U.S.N.M.) 

Fig.  8.  WATERPROOF  SEALSKIN  BOOTS.  These  boots  are  from  Yukon  River  and 
consist  of  six  parts — the  sole,  upper,  leg,  extension  top,  ornamental 
band,  and  lacings.  The  sole  is  of  black  dried  sealskin  from  which  the 
hair  has  been  carefully  removed  by  shaving.  It  is  turned  up  and 
molded  into  shape  so  .that  the  crimping  has  almost  disappeared.  The 
upper  is  of  brown  oiled  leather,  its  lower  border  is  turned  up  all  around 
inside  of  the  margin  of  the  sole,  and  the  two  upturned  edges  are  run 
together,  the  stitches  being  caught  over  a  cord  on  the  inside,  as  in  birch- 
bark  sewing.  The  two  vertical  edges  of  this  upper  are  joined  together 
by  a  diagonal  seam,  as  shown  in  fig.  5  of  this  plate.  This  diagonal 
joint  is  sometimes  sewed  only  on  one  side,  as  in  fig.  58.  In  specimens 
from  Greenland,  collected  by  Dr.  C.  Hart  Merriam,  the  seam  extends 
on  both  sides  of  the  instep.  Above  the  upper,  the  leg  consists  of  a  broad 
band  of  white  sealskin  cured  by  sweating  and  bleaching  in  the  show. 
On  top  of  this  band,  or  between  it  and  the  extension  top,  is  a  pretty 
insertion  of  brown  and  white  sealskin  with  piping.  The  extension  top 
is  of  white  sealskin.  Collected  by  J.  T.  Dyar. 
(Cat.  No.  10486,  U.  S.  N,  M.) 


PRIMITIVE    TKAVEL    AND    TRANSPORT ATION. 


337 


Example  No.  56759  is  a  pair  of  man's  dress  hoots  of  deerskin.  These 
differ  from  the  common  hoot  in  the  insertions  of  different  colored  hide 
alternating  along  the  horizontal  and  vertical  scams.  The  soles  are  of 
white  sealskin,  neatly  crimped,  with  the  edges  coming  to  a  point  at 
the  toe.  Between  the  upper  and  the  sole  are  live  bands  of  seal  hide, 
the  hair  black  and  white  alternately.  The  leg  is  hemmed  at  the  top  for 
a  drawstring,  and  there  are  lacings  at  the  ankles  (fig.  50). 

Example  No.  s<>s;5l  (ijo.  51)  is  a  pair  of  man's  dress  boots  from  Point 
Barrow,  Alaska.  The  tops  are  made  from 
the  skin  of  the  mountain  sheep  (O/-/.s  nion- 
tana).  The  soles  are  much  turned  up  all 
round,  and,  like  the  last  described  pair, 
recall  the  crimped  moccasin  of  the  Atha- 
pascans. There  are  three  ornamental 
bands  of  sealskin — black,  white,  and 
black — between  the  sole  and  the  upper. 
Strips  of  mountain  sheepskin  and  dark 
brown  deerskin,  tagged  with  red  worsted, 
fringe  the  side  seam  of  the  leg.  Little 
tags  are  also  cut  in  the  edge  of  the  side 
piece  on  its  hinder  margin.  Mr.  Mur- 
doch says  that  this  pair  of  boots  was 
brought  from  the  east  of  Point  Barrow 
by  one  of  the  Nuwuk  trading  parties  in 
1882,  and  this  may  account  for  the  ma- 
terial and  the  shape  of  the  sole.  Mis  con 
jecture  is  confirmed  by  comparing  the 
specimen  here  described  with  figures  3, 4, 
and  7  in  plate  4. 

Kxample  No.  56749  is  a  pair  of  man's 
dress  boots  from  Point  Barrow,  with  soles 
crimped  high  up.  The  ornamental  bands 
are  inserted  in  the  same  manner  between 
sole  and  upper,  and  similarly  pointed 
above  the  phalanges.  There  is  a  differ- 
ence in  the  side  seam,  and  the  insertion 
of  a  larger  piece  to  increase  the  size  of 
the  leg  above,  let  in  by  an  oblique  sea  in 
across  the  calf.1  These,  according  to  Murdoch,  fairly  represent  the 
style  of  full  dress  boots  worn  with  loose  bottomed  breeches,  as  in  his 
figure  W,  page  1-5.  They  all  have  drawstrings  just  below  the  knee, 
and  often  have  no  lacings  about  the  ankles.  He  calls  attention  to  the 
drawstring  as  an  eastern  fashion,  but  prefers  the  Point  Barrow  style  of 
tying  the  breeches  down  over  the  tops  of  the  boots.  The  Smith  Sound 

'Murdoch,  "Ethnological  Results  of  the  Point   Burrow  Expedition,"  Ninth  Ann. 
Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  p.  133. 
H.  Mis.  J»0.  pt.  L' L'L' 


Fig.  49. 

MAN'S  BOOT  AND  TROUSEHS  I'.MTEP, 
HV  THE    ESKIMO   OF   POINT    HARROW, 

ALASKA. 

From  .1  Agurr  in  Mur.l.x-b'-  "  Ethnoloftrnl  RMult* 
of  the  Point -Burrow  Expedition."  Ninth  Annual 
Import  of  the  Bumu  of  Ethnology. 
Cut.  No.  66TSO,  f.  S.  N.  M 


338 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


natives  are  said  to  tie  the  boots  over  the  breeches.     The  boots  are  all 

joined  with  reindeer  sinew  by  fitting  the  edges  together  and  sewing 

them  "over  and  over"  011  the  "wrong"  side  (fig.  52). 

Example  No.  153892  is  a  very  pretty  speci- 
men of  the  Eskimo  boot  from  Point  Barrow, 
with  the  sole  puckered  in  front  and  at  the 
heel  after  the  manner  of  the  Athapascan 
shoe.  The  vamp  and  heel  are  separate,  as 
in  a  modern  boot;  the  upper  margin  of  the 
vamp,  the  heel,  and  the  outer  leg  of  the 
boot  are  sewn  together.  The  leg  consists  of 
alternate  strips  of  white  and  brown  reindeer 
hide.  The  upper  part  of  the  boot  is  made  of 
eight  rows  of  deerskin  having  different  col- 
ored hair,  bordered  below  with  a  strip  of  skin 
of  the  arctic  fox  (Vnlpes  lagopus).  Length, 
10  inches.  Collected  by  John  Murdoch. 

Example  Xo.  7618:!  (fig.  53)  is  a  pair  of 
woman's  waterproof 
boots.  The  tops  are 
of  black  dressed  seal- 
skin reaching  to  the 
knee.  Murdoch  says 
that  they  are  made 
full  at  the  instep  and 
ankles  to  reduce  the 
number  of  seams 
and  the  chances  of 
leaking.  This  single 
seam  on  one  side  of 

the  instep  appears  in  Greenland.    No.  151668, 

collected  by  C.   H.    Merriam.     Soles  of  white 

whale  skin;  leg  and  upper   all  of  one  piece, 

having    one    double,    water-tight 

seam  in  front  of  the  leg  and  across 

the  instep  to  the  sole  at  the  ankle 

joint.    The  upper  is  joined  to  the 

sole  in  such  manner  that  the  in- 

sides  of  both  come  together;  the 

two  are  then  run  together  with  fine 

stitches.      A  band  of  white  seal- 
skin run  on  ornaments  the  top,  and 

a  drawstring  is  inserted  in  a  bind- 
ing of  black   sealskin.      Lugs  or 

loops  of  white  whale  skin  for  lacing  are  attached  to  the  margin  of  the 

sole  on  either  side  at  the  ball  of  the  foot  and  beneath  the  ankle  joint. 

Murdoch  says  that  the  ends  of  the  string  are  passed  through  the  front 


Fig.  50. 

MAN'S     LONG      BOOT,    USED      BY     THE 
ESKIMO  OF  POINT  BARROW,  ALASKA. 
From  a  figure  in  Murdoch's  "  Ethnological  Re- 
sult; ol  the  Point  Barrow  Expedition,"  Ninth 
Annu  1  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 
Cut.  No  56759,  U.  S.  N.  M. 


Fig.  51. 

MAN'S  ORNAMENTAL  BOOT.  USED  BY  THE  ESKIMO  OK 
POINT   BARROW.  ALASKA. 


L  figure 

tiw  Expedition.' 

ology. 

Cat.  N 


;lorh'.<  "Ethnological  Results  of  the  Foil 
"  Ninth  Annual  Report  >>f  the  Bureau  < 


.  89834,  IT.  S.  X.  M. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


339 


loop  so  that  the  bight  comes  across  the  bull  of  the  foot,  then  through 
the  hinder  loops,  and  are  crossed  above  the  heel,  carried  once  or  twice 
around  the  ankle  and  tied  in  front.  The  waterproof  boots  from  Alaska 
have  the  seam  on  both  sides  of  tlu>  instep. 

Murdoch  describes  the  manner  of  sewing  a  waterproof  seam  among 
the  Kskimo:  "The  two  pieces  are  put  together,  flesh  side  to  flesh  side? 
so  that  the  edge  of  one  projects  beyond  the  other,  which  is  then  blind 
stitched  down  by  sewing  it  over  and  over  on  the  edge,  taking  pains  to 
run  the  stitches  only  part  way  through  the  other  piece.  The  seam  is 
then  turned  and  the  edge  of 
the  outer  piece  is  turned  in 
and  run  down  to  the  grain  side 
of  the  under  with  fine  stitches 
that  do  not  pass  through  to  the 
tlesli  side  of  it.  Tims  in  neither 
seam  are  there  holes  through 
both  pieces  at  once."1 

This  same  notion  of  blind 
stitching  may  be  seen  on  Atha 
pasean  shoes,  even  among  the 
Hupas  in  California. 

Lieutenant  Schwatka  says 
that  a  certain  kind  of  boot  for 
use  in  the  water  is  found  among 
the  Alaskans,  made  of  seal  or 
h'sli  skin,  which  is  almost  if  not 
fully  as  impervious  as  those 
made  of  rubber  by  more  civil 
ixed  people.''  His  travels  were 
about  the  Yukon  River. 

Kxample  No.  43.'345  is  a  pair 
of  shoes  or  boottees  from  Golo- 
vina  Bay,  consisting  of  three 
parts — the  sole,  the  vamp,  and 
the  heel  piece.  The  soles  are 
of  black  seal  skin,  turned  up 
all  around  and  puckered  in  front  and  in  the  rear,  looking  like  an  old 
man's  chin.  The  vamp  is  of  white  sealskin  and  is  quite  ornamental. 
Its  lower  edge,  where  it  is  attached  to  the  upper  margin  of  the  sole,  con 
sists  of  seven  bands  of  sealskin  of  different  colors  and  varying  widths, 
making  an  extremely  elaborate  device.  From  this  the  vamp  extends 
upward  quite  well  on  the  foot.  The  heel  is  a  piece  of  plain  white  seal 
skin,  which  is  sewed  to  the  margin  of  the  sole  and  extends  to  the  top  of 

'Murdoch,  "  Ethnological    Result*  <>f  the  I'oint  Marrow  Expedition."  Ninth  Ann. 
Rep.  Hurcaii  of  Ethnology,  p.  1->1- 

2Schwatku,  "Military  Reconnoisttuucu  in  Ala-Ua."  p.  105. 


Fig.  52. 

MAN'S  DRESS  BOOTS  OF  DEERSKIN,  USED  BY  THE  ESKIMO 
OK  POINT  BAKROW,  ALASKA. 

From  ii  ft«un?  in  Murdoch'.  ••  Kihi,..|,,«,.  :,l  Hr-ult.  of  the  Po.nl  Borrow 

Expedition."   Ninth  Annual  Krport  <>f  Ihr  Bun-mi  of  Ethnolocr. 

C»i.  N.I.  .'16749.  U. .«.  S.  M. 


340 


KEPORT    OF    NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 


the  boot.  The  border  at  the  top  is  of  the  same  color  and  has  below  it 
a  little  band  of  sealskin  with  the  hair  on.  All  the  parts  aie  united 
by  means  of  cording  or  piping-  of  different-colored  leather.  The  lacing- 
is  attached  to  the  front  loops  on  the  sole  by  sewing.  They  are  crossed 
above  the  back  of  the  foot,  passed  through  two  lugs  of  white  leather 
at  the  side  of  the  heel,  then  across  the  instep,  where  they  are  tied. 
Length,  9£  inches.  Collected  by  E.  W.  Nelson. 

Example  No.  129822  is  a  pair  ot'boots  from  St.  Michaels,  Alaska.  The 
sole  is  made  from  sealskin,  turned  up  and  puckered;  the  margin  on  the  toe 

and  heel  turned  out  so  as  to  form 
the  profile  of  a  human  chin.  The 
lugs  consist  of  straps,  as  on  a  boot, 
and  the  front  pair  are  sewed  on 
to  the  lacing.  The  top  is  of  brown 
dressed  sealskin  and  is  run  on 
to  the  margin  of  the  sole  more 
than  half  way  round  in  front  by 
a  piping  or  welt.  This  top  consists 
of  a  front,  or  vamp,  and  the  heel, 
which  extends  from  the  border  of 
the  sole  to  the  upper  margin  of  the 
boot.  Between  the  vamp  and  the 
leg  is  a  gore  or  insertion  of  white 
skin,  and  a  band  of  white  skin  is 
let  in  between  the  sides  of  the 
vamp  and  the  leg;  on  that  two  nar- 
row borders  of  dark  leather  have 
been  run.  From  this  vamp  to  the 
upper  margin  the  front  of  the  leg 
is  decorated  in  the  following  man- 
ner: A  piece  of  hide  is  inserted 
between  the  two  margins  of  the 
top,  and  between  these  margins  a 
piece  of  white  leather  doubled  up 
for  a  piping,  then  the  other  parts 
are  sewed  together  with  a  thong 
of  leather  string.  The  upper  bor- 
der is  decorated  with  a  piece  of 
white  hide;  this  is  adorned  with  a  narrow  strip  of  dark  hide  run  on,  and 
at  the  juncture  of  this  band  with  the  top  the  second  row  of  stitches 
has,  alternating  with  the  white,  little  bits  of  dark  leather  one  half 
inch  wide  sewed  on.  Length,  lOi  inches.  Collected  by  General  Hazen, 
U.  S.  A. 

There  is  in  the  National  Museum  a  shoe  similar  to  No.  43345,  but 
the  strips  of  different  colored  skin  inserted  between  the  vamp  and  the 
sole  are  wider,  more  numerous,  and  are  decorated  with  geometric  figures 


Fig.  53. 

WOMAN'S    WATERPROOF    SEALSKIN    BOOT,   USED  BY 

THE  ESKIMO  OP  POINT  BAHHOW,  ALASKA. 
From  a  figure  in  Murdoch's  "  Ethnological   Results  of  the  Point 
Barrow   Expedition,"  Ninth  Annual  Report  of  the   Bureau  <>! 
Ethnology. 

Cat.  No.  76182,  U.S.  N.  M. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION-  341 

effected  by  running  narrow  strips  of  leather  into  the  texture  of  the 
body  of  the  shoe,  a  very  common  style,  of  ornamentation  in  Greenland. 
This  specimen  is  from  Norton  Sound,  and  i*  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
examples  of  the  shoemaker's  art.  Length,  .si  inches.  Collected  by 
E.  W.  Nelson. 

Example  No.  104(57,  from  the  Yukon  Kiver  district,  has  the  fol- 
lowing marks:  First,  the  sole  is  a  stout  pirn-  of  seal  hide,  dressed  with 
out  the  hair;  puckered  around  the  toes  and  heel  in  exactly  the  same 
fashion  as  the  sole  of  the  Navajo  shoe,  No.  0549.  To  this  margin  is 
sewed  a  strip  of  red  sealskin,  flesh  side  out,  about  an  inch  wide  all 
around,  and  to  this  is  whipped  the  top  of  the  boot  made  up  of  twenty- 
five  pieces  or  bits  of  deerskin  sewed  together.  Just  above  the  ankle 
there  is  a  dividing  line  between  the  shoe  proper  and  the  leg.  This 
latter  part  is  very  ornamental,  consisting  of  skin  from  different  parts 
of  the  deer's  leg,  with  patches  of  wolverene  skin  front  and  back;  the 
u i >per  part  consists  of  several  bands  of  skiu  from  the  leg  of  the  deer, 
the  hair  being  white  and  trimmed  close  above  the  seams.  Drawstrings 
are  inserted  between  the  sole  and  the  red  strip,  just  below  the  ankles, 
and  these  are  brought  up  over  the  heel  and  instep  and  around  the 
ankle  to  bind  the  shoe  to  the  foot.  Length,  {»£  inches.  Collected  by 
J.  T.  Dyar. 

I  Example  No.  38771  is  a  pair  of  boots  from  Unalakleet,  Yukon  district, 
Alaska,  consist  ing  of  a  heavy  black  sole  turned  up  all  around  and  puck- 
ered at  the  ends.  The  upper  part  consists  of  the  vamp,  the  heel  in  a 
single  piece,  and  the  upper  border.  The  vamp,  before  being  back- 
stitched  to  the  upper  margin  of  the  sole  is  ornamented  more  than  half 
way  round  with  a  pretty  band  of  brownish  leather,  into  which  two  rows 
of  narrow  stitching  of  rawhide  thread  are  run  making  a  web-like  orna- 
ment; it  extends  well  up  above  the  instep  and  the  heel.  A  little  higher 
still,  and  the  two  join  together  by  a  very  neat  seam,  in  which  piping  is 
introduced  in  leather  of  a  different  color.  The  border  of  the  boot  is  a 
separate  strip  of  leather  run  on  to  the  top,  and  a  very  narrow  band  of 
brown  leather  is  inserted  at  this  point.  Around  the  top  is  a  little  strip 
of  deerskin  with  the  hair  on.  The  lacing  consists  of  two  straps  sewed 
on  to  the  upper  margin  of  the  sole  opposite  the  ball  of  the  foot.  These 
are  crossed  over  the  instep  and  passed  down  to  the  sides  of  the  heel 
through  two  loops  of  leather;  they  are  then  brought  around  the  back 
of  th"  heel  and  tied  in  front  over  the  instep.  Length,  10  inches.  Col- 
lected by  E.  W.  Nelson. 

Example  No.  7012  is  a  pair  of  shoes  from  Nunivak  Island.  Soles 
made  of  sealskin  turned  up  and  crimped.  The  upper  part  consists  of  ;: 
broad  strip  passing  entirely  around  the  foot,  with  the  leg  attached  above 
that.  The  tongue  is  inserted  between  the  leg  and  the  vamp  and  the 
lacing.  The  lacing  ami  the  tongue  are  ornamented  with  embroidery  in 
quill  work,  which  shows  a  little  contact  between  the  Indian  and  the 
Eskimo.  Length,  10  mches.  Collected  by  W.  H.  Dall. 


342  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

In  the  early  spring  the  Eskimo  women,  of  Ungava,  north  of  Labrador, 
are  busily  engaged  in  making  boots  for  summer  wear.  The  skins  of  the 
seals  have  been  prepared  the  fall  before  and  stored  away  till  wanted. 
The  method  of  skin  dressing  is  the  same  as  practiced  by  Eskimo  else- 
where. If  it  is  designed  to  make  boots  for  a  man,  the  measure  of  the 
height  of  the  leg  is  taken.  The  length  and  width  of  the  sole  is  meas- 
ured by  hand,  stretching  so  far  and  then  bending  down  the  middle 
finger  until  the  length  is  measured.1 

The  foot  wear  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Eskimo,  collected  by  Lucien  M. 
Turner,  has  the  following  characteristics: 

The  boots  and  shoes  differ  in  material  and  pattern  for  different  sea- 
sons of  the  year.  In  all  the  styles  the  stout  soles  turn  up  an  inch  or 
two  all  round  the  foot,  a  tongue  piece  covers  the  top  of  the  foot  and 
above  the  sole  and  the  tongue  the  top  varies  in  height,  either  being 
long  enough  to  reach  the  knee  or  else  rising  a  little  above  the  ankle. 
The  low-top  half  boots  are  worn  over  fur  stockings  in  warm  weather. 
These  stockings  are  made  of  short-haired  deerskin  with  the  hair  worn 
inside.  These  low-top  boots  are  worn  outside  the  long  boots  in  severe 
weather.  The  Hudson  Bay  Eskimo  also  wear  Indian  moccasins,  some- 
times over  a  pair  of  inside  shoes  and  sometimes  as  inside  shoes..  The 
Indians  in  proximity  with  the  Eskimo  here  are  the  Nascopi  and  Mon- 
tagnais  Algonquiau,  and  features  of  Algonquiau  moccasins  are  to  be 
seen  in  the  more  northern  boots.  The  wearing  of  overshoes,  of  stock- 
ings and  overshoes  must  not  be  overlooked  in  primitive  life,  and  may  be 
kept  in  mind  in  the  interpretation  of  ancient  pictures  and  sculptures. 
The  Hudson  Bay  Eskimo  use  for  waterproof  soles  the  skin  of  the  beaver 
or  of  the  harp  seal,  and  prefer  the  former.  For  indoor  shoes  or  for  those 
to  be  worn  in  cold,  dry  weather,  the  skin  of  the  white  whale  was  chosen. 
The  skins  of  the  smaller  seals  are  made  into  soles,  either  with  the  flesh 
or  the  hair  side  out.  They  are  comparatively  waterproof  if  the  black 
epidermis  be  allowed  to  remain.  The  creamy  white  leather  made  by 
allowing  the  skins  to  ferment  until  hair  and  epidermis  may  be  scraped 
off'  and  then  stretching  and  drying  them  in  the  cold  air  does  not  exclude 
the  water  and  can  be  used  for  soles  only  in  perfectly  dry  weather. 
Buckskin  or  deerskin  soles  are  worn  with  snow  shoes,  as  the  feet  are 
not  so  liable  to  slip,  and  the  porous  skin  allows  the  moisture  of  the 
feet  to  escape  more  readily. 

The  tongue  and  the  heel  baud  of  the  Hudson  Bay  shoe  are  generally 
made  of  dressed  sealskin;  the  legs  or  uppers  are  of  sealskin  with  the 
hair  on. 

Example  No.  90359  (fig.  54),  collected  by  Lucien  M.  Turner,  is  a  pair  of 
boots  with  buckskin  feet  and  tongue  and  sealskin  tops.  The  combina- 
tion of  Eskimo  and  Indian  is  noteworthy.  Throughout  Mr.  Turner's 
Ungava  collection  there  are  many  specimens  of  this  character.  As  in 


1  Cf.  Turner,  "  Ethnology  of  the  Ungava  District,  Hudson  Bay  Territory,"  Eleventh 
Ann.  Eep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  p.  206. 


PKIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


343 


Fix.54 

SHOUT    BOOTS   OK    VMIAVA    IJAV    l>KI\ln. 

- 


Alaska  the  arts  of  the  Yukou  pass  insensibly  from  Indian  to  Eskimo, 
so  here. 

Example  No.  !H)3."><>  (tig.  ~>o)  is  a  ]>air  of  low  shoes  lioin  Hudson  Kay 
Eskimo,  with  white  sealskin  soles, 
Mark  sealskin  tongue  and  heel  hand, 
and  deerskin  tops.  The  tawed  and 
smoked  reindeer  skin  for  the  tops 
was  purchased  from  the  Nascopi  In- 
dians. The  noticeable  features  of 
these  speriinens  are  the  similarity 
of  the  while  skin  sole  with  those  of 
tlie  western  Eskimo,  the  pointed 
tongue  or  upper,  and  the  narrow 
inserted  heel  band  between  sole  and 
top.  In  some  of  the  more  elegant 
western  forms 
of  boots  half  a 
do/en  band 
welts  and  pip- 
ings of  parti 
colored  skin 
and  fur  are  in 
serted. 

One  kind  of  foot  gear  of  these  Eskimo  consists 
of  a  bird  skin  short  sock  with  a  padding  of  grass 
nicely  distributed  over  the  sole.  Outside  of  this 
comes  a  bearskin  leg  sewed  with  great  skill  to 
the  natural  sole  of  the  plantigrade  and  abun- 
dantly wadded  about  the  foot  with  dry,  noucon 
ducting  straw.1 

Stearns  thus  minutely  describes  the  process  of 
boot  making  by  Indians  of  Old 
Fort  Bay,  Labrador:  "From  a 
lot  of  sealskins  one  is  selected, 
either  from  a  harbor  seal  with 
the  hair  on  or  a  large  harp  seal 
from  which  the  hair  hasall  been 
scraped  oil'.  In  either  case  the 
skin,  to  be  the  most  serviceable, 
must  be  well  scraped  of  fat  on 
the  inside  and  dried  for  two  or 


ir-    in  Till 

Bay  Ttr 

of  Klhnoli 


I 


!..«>•  ..I  ih,-  I  iidavi,  y,,tnct, 
nlli    Annual    Krpurt   of  *he 


CM.  No.  (nav.i.  I".  -   \.  M. 


Kin.  .V.. 

LOW   SHOE   OK    I  M.AVA    KAY    KSKIMO. 


Buy  T-rnt,,ry. 


rurii-r'-"  Kthnolncy  i-l  Ih.-  Cnnva  District,  Hnd-mn 
vi,nuiilKf|».ili>l  th-  Kurt-ail  of  Ktbnolix;. 


.  VOM,  I     v  \    M. 


three  months  on  some  frame  on 
which  it  has  been  stretched  to 
its  fullest  extent  in  the  sun,  exposed  on  the  wood  pile  or  roof  of  the 
house  (after  the  hair  has  been  taken  off,  if  a  harp  seal,  and  with 

IT.  E.  K.  Kan«-,  ••  AK  IK    i:\ploi. it  ions,"  Hiiliululpliia,  185<3,  pp. 


344  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

the  hair  on,  if  a  harbor  seal).  These  dry  skins  will  not  shrink,  and  for 
every  purpose  of  wear  are  infinitely  better  than  the  shoes  sold  in  large 
numbers,  made  of  quickly  dried  skins,  sewed  upon  wooden  forms, 
which  shrink  and  tear,  while  they  soon  wear  useless.  Out  of  them  the 
boot  leg'  is  cut  from  a  pattern  of  any  kind  the  wearer  may  choose.  All 
or  nearly  all  bottoms  are  cut  from  like  patterns  to  fit  a  foot  of  any 
shape,  but  invariably  from  the  dried  skin  of  the  harp  seal,  the  drier 
and  older  the  better,  since  they  stand  more  wear  the  older  they  are. 
The  pattern  of  the  sole  is  an  oblong  oval,  while  the  tongue  or  top 
piece  is  more  or  less  lance  shaped.  After  soaking  over  night  in  water 
to  soften  it,  the  sole  is  taken  and  the  whole  edge  for  about  an  inch  and 
a  half  is  bent  inward;  then  the  toe  is  puckered  in  creases,  as  is  also 
the  heel,  while  the  tongue  fits  the  space  left  after  the  boot  leg  is  tem- 
porarily fastened  on,  all  the  pieces  overlapping  enough  to  allow  for 
sewing.  These  puckerings  are  made  by  simple  creases  of  the  needle 
at  the  time  of  sewing.  All  seams  are  made — if  the  sewing  is  done 
in  a  skillful  manner,  and  not  simply  to  sell  the  boot — by  the  simple 
overlapping  of  the  two  pieces  and  sewing  each  edge  tightly  to  the 
part  beneath,  while  the  ridge  thus  made  by  the  seam,  if  rubbed  with 
a  piece  of  wood,  shoemaker  fashion,  will  be  hard  and  shiny  as  well  as 
very  tight.  In  all  sewing  the  skin  is  so  thick  that  the  needle  can  be  run 
through  it  and  out  the  same  side  without  perforating  the  skin ;  thus  a 
seam  admits  no  water  through  the  sewing  if  the  thread  and  overlapping 
pieces  are  drawn  tight.  The  upper  border  of  the  boot  leg  has  a  doubled 
p'ece  of  cloth  sewn  around  its  edge,  though  sometimes  sealskin  replaces 
it,  through  which  a  piece  of  tape  or  braid  of  any  color  to  suit  the 
wearer,  about  a  yard  and  a  half  long,  is  threaded,  and  the  skin  being 
quite  flexible  when  on  the  foot  is  drawn  tightly  about  the  leg,  the  braid 
wound  about  twice  and  tied  with  the  string  end  hanging  outward. 
This  secures  the  boot  firmly  and  yet  not  painfully  to  the  foot  by  the 
leg,  and,  though  the  string  often  gets  loose  and  the  boot  leg  often  slips 
down,  it  seldom  gives  much  trouble  to  the  wearer.  A  noteworthy  opera- 
tion that  might  escape  one's  attention,  as  well  as  a  curious  fact  in  con- 
nection with  this  operation,  is  that  the  puckeriugs  of  the  heel  are  held 
together  by  running  two,  three,  or  four  small  threads  at  about  equal 
distance  from  each  other,  the  stitches  being  taken  through  the  bend  in 
tho  creases  on  the  inside  of  the  boot  from  side  to  side  around  the  heel, 
where  they  are  drawn  tight  and  fastened  to  the  seam  above;  another 
fact  is  that  the  creases  of  the  toe  are  not  thus  fastened."  l 
The  types  of  the  Eskimo  foot  wear  are: 

1.  The  straw  shoe  or  stocking,  between  Bering  Strait  and  Kadiak., 

2.  The  moccasin-shaped  low  shoe. 

3-  The  moccasin  sole  with  boottee  top. 


»W.  A.  Stearns,  "Labrador,"  Boston,  1884,  pp.  162,  163.    The  boots  of  the  east  Green- 
landers  are  of  similar  make,  and  arts  described  by  Holm  and  by  Nanseu,  "First 
of  Greenland,"  II,  p.  272  et  seq. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  345 

4.  Boottee  with  sole;  vamp  and  legging  separated  from  the  sole  by  one 
or  more  bands  or  welts  of  different  color  and  width. 

5.  Crimped  soles  united  immediately  to  the  seal  or  other  skin  tops. 
These  are  winter  boots. 

G.  Waterproof  boots  with  crimped  soles  united  immediately  to  the 
vamp  and  quarter.  These  two  parts  are  joined,  sometimes  with  a  seam 
on  one  side  and  sometimes  with  a  seam  on  both  sides,  and  above  the 
vam]>  and  heel  piece  are  tops,  and  sometimes  extension  tops,  either  of 
waterproof  Oft  of  white  sealskin. 

7.  Double  boot  (outer  boot  with  crimped  sole  united  to  a  long  leg  of 
sealskin  or  deerskin  with  the  hair  side  out  and  inner  boot  or  stocking 
with  the  hair  side  in  toward  the  foot). 

NY  here  the  Eskimo  have  been  in  contact  with  the  Russians,  the 
whalers,  and  with  the  Scandinavians,  various  foreign  elements  have 
been  introduced,  as  the  welt  in  the  seams,  additional  strips  and  deco- 
rative piping  between  the  different  parts,  and  the  addition  of  bead 
work  and  tine  embroidery  on  the  surface.  While  certain  elements  and 
materials  characterize  various  culture  regions,  the  going  about  of  the 
Eskimo  themselves  and  the  accnlturations  above  mentioned  have  greatly 
mingled  the  characteristics  of  the  foot  wear. 

On  leaving  the  Eskimo  region  in  America  and  traveling  southward 
one  passes  from  the  laud  of  sealskin  foot  gear  into  that  made  from  the 
dressed  hides  of  laud  mammals.  This  class  of  foot  wear  goes  by  the 
generic  name  of  moccasin,  from  an  Algouquian  word  having  a  similar 
sound.  Some  features  of  the  moccasin  may  be  seen  in  Eskimo  land, 
and  Eskimo  features  will  appear  in  Athapascan  and  Algonquian  shoes 
especially;  so  also  on  the  south  border  of  the  moccasin  areas  there  is  no 
sharp  line  dividing  it  from  the  sandal  and  the  bare  foot. 

Moccasins  have  their  dispersion  in  those  areas  of  North  America 
where  the  great  mammals  were  in  abundance,  and  where  the  ground 
was  adapted  to  their  usage.  The  people  were  ever  on  the  move.  In 
the  Canadian  region  where  the  caribou  was  the  prevailing  mammal 
and  no  good  thick  hide  could  be  found  for  soles,  the  shoe  was  cut  from 
a  single  piece.  The  eastern  Canadian  Indians  cut  the  skin  from  the 
heel  of  a  caribou  or  moose  with  extensions  above  and  below,  for  the  leg 
and  the  foot  of  a  rude  moccasin,  called  botte  sativage. 

The  land  of  the  buffalo  and  of  the  elk,  because  of  the  quality  of 
the  hide  and  the  exigencies  of  region,  occupation,  and  climate,  had 
another  set  of  types. 

On  arriving  in  the  cactus  country  the  Indian  had  to  guard  his  feet 
and  his  legs  as  well,  and  found  in  the  ample  folds  of  an  entire  deerskin 
for  each  foot,  and  a  thick  sole  well  turned  up  in  front,  the  protection 
he  needed.  The  patch  of  leather  on  the  Mexican  sandal  lacing  is  for 
the  same  end.  In  point  of  fact  there  were  and  are  three  principal 
classes  or  species  of  the  moccasin  : 

1.  The  Athapascan  type,  a  soft  gaiter  coming  well  up  on  the  ankle, 


346  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM.  1894. 

made  of  a  single  piece  with  decorated  tongue  in  front,  lapels  of  flannel 
and  buckskin  over  the  lacing  behind,  and  the  gaiter  top.  Found  in 
Canada  and  on  the  west  coast. 

2.  The  low,  much-  decorated  slipper  moccasin  of  the  plains  and  of 
the  United  States  east  of  the  Kockies,  with  endless  tribal  varieties. 

3.  The  boot,  with  long  top  to  wrap  about  the  limbs. 

There  were,  in  addition  to  the  environmental  suggestions,  fashions 
of  moccasins  that  were  purely  trib :il.  For  instance,  among  the  Siouan 
tribes  the  Ponka  moccasin  sole  was  nearly  symmetrical,  broad  across 
the  ball  of  the  foot,  and  bluntly  pointed  in  front.  The  Oiuahas  made  a 
moccasin  the  sole  of  which  was  almost  straight  along  the  inside  of  the 
foot  and  pointed  like  our  latest  fashion,  while  the  Pani  style  was  curved 
very  irregularly  along  both  edges  and  sharply  pointed.  But  styles 
were  mixed  from  tribe  to  tribe. 

Moccasins  were  generally  made  in  summer,  since  the  hides  of  buffalo 
slain  during  that  season  were  without  thick  hair.  In  the  making  the 
women  pulled  out  the  hair,  as  they  did  in  the  manufacture  of  leggings. 
They  were  cut  out  by  a  pattern,  made  over  a  rude  last,  and  sewed 
with  thread  made  of  sinew  from  the  leg  or  the  fiber  from  the  muscular 
fasciae  of  the  back  and  the  shoulder.  Before  the  introduction  of  beads 
dyed  porcupine«,nd  bird  quills  were  employed  in  ornament,  and  it  is 
worthy  of  notice  that  now  the  old  patterns  are  repeated  faithfully  in 
beadwork.  The  making  of  the  moccasin  is  a  matter  of  ethnical  and 
geographical  study,  as  will  be  observed  in  the  drawings  and  descrip- 
tions. They  are  white,  yellow,  brown,  black,  or  green ;  they  are  very 
low,  with  margin  turned  down,  or  fitted  closely  to  the  foot;  they  are 
plain  or  covered  with  symbols  of  toteuiisin  and  mythology;  they  have 
trailers  differing  in  pattern,  number,  and  length.  In  a  region  so  vast  as 
all  Canada  south  of  Eskimo  and  all  the  United  States  excepting  the 
southwestern  corner,  the  resources  and  exactions  of  nature  would  in  the 
same  tribe  effect  many  varieties  and  styles. 

Commencing  at  the  far  north,  example  No.  7013  is  a  pair  of  moccasins 
of  the  Kutchakutchin  Indians  on  the  Yukon,  consisting  of  three  parts, 
the  covering  of  the  foot,  the  tongue,  and  the  heel  (fig.  56.)  The  first- 
named  piece  is  cut  out  in  rectangular  form,  rnitered  in  front  and  the  two 
edges  sewed  together  or  joining  a  tongue  piece.  In  the  heel  the  two 
edges  are  brought  together  and  sewed  downward  about  3  inches,  then 
for  the  rest  of  the  way  ihe  leather  is  doubled  so  as  to  form  a  T-shaped 
seam,  and  this  provides  for  the  flattening  out  of  the  sole.  The  tongue, 
like  that  of  a  modern  shoe,  is  sewed  in  with  a  piping,  but  the  heel  cur- 
tain is  here  omitted  from  the  margin  of  the  shoe.  The  edge  of  the  bot 
torn  of  the  heel  is  cut  off  square  and  leaves  no  trailers  whatever.  No 
1336,  collected  by  C.  P.  Gaudet  (fig.  57),  is  similar  to  this,  excepting  on 
the  top  of  the  shoe  a  piece  of  white  leather  or  false  tongue  is  added  for 
ornament,  and  the  seam  gathered  with  beautiful  quill  work  of  red  and 
blue.  Also  on  the  back  of  this  example  the  inserted  leather  hangs  an 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    A\l>    TRANSPORTATION. 


347 


MOCCASIN  OK    KfTCHAKlTCIlIX    INDIANS.    AI.A>KA. 
Cut,  No.   '.613.  I  .  S.  s.  M.     O.lliftiil  by  \\  .Ilium  II.  l>ilL 


inch  below  the  seam  like  a  curtain  aiid  is  cut  out  neatly  into  a  castel- 
lated ornament.  Length  of  foot.  10£  inches;  height  of  boot,  9  inches. 
Collected  by  \V.  H.  Ball. 

Kxample  No.  16G9G4  is  a  shoe  of  the  Athapascan  form  worn  in  the 
interior  of  Alaska  on  the  Yukon. 
de.-eribedalsounderNo.  1330, but  to 
the  bottom  of  this  Indian  moccasin 
is  sewed  a  thick  sole,  made  of  sennit 
<•<  nstructed  out  of  old  manila  rope, 
frayed  and  braided  after  the  manner 
of  the  Tibetan  shoe  No.  131  IDS. 
The  union  of  the  Indian  moccasin 
with  the  Chinese  and  Tibetan  sole 
in  the  same  specimen  is  an  excel- 
lent example  of  the  way  in  which 
one  people  borrow  the .  inventionsof 
another.  This  shoe  is  evidently  an 
adaptation  made  by  an  American 
sailor  or  by  a  Chinaman  recently 
living  in  Alaska.  Length,  104 
inches.  Collected  by  J.  H.  Turner. 

In  winter,  according  to  Mackenzie,  the  dress  of  the  Chippewyan  is 
composed  of  the  skins  of  deer  and  their  fawns,  dressed  as  line  as  any 
chamois  leather  in  the  hair.  In  summer  the  same,  except  without  the 
hair.  Their  shoes  and  leggings  are  sewed  together,  the  latter  reaching 

upward  to  the  middle  and  be- 
ing supported  by  a  belt,  under 
which  a  small  piece  of  leather 
is  drawn,  the  ends  of  which  fall 
down  both  before  and  behind. 
In  the  shoes  they  put  the  hair 
of  the  moose  or  reindeer  with 
additional  pieces  of  leather  as 
socks.  The  shirt  or  coat  when 
girted  around  the  waist  reaches 
to  the  middle  of  the  thigh,  and 
the  mittens  are  sewed  to  the 
sleeves  or  are  suspended  by 
strings  from  the  shoulders.  A 
ruff  or  tippet  surrounds  the 
neck,  and  the  skin  of  the  head 
of  the  deer  forms  a  carious  cap. 
A  robe  made  of  several  deer  or  fawn  skins  sewed  together  covered  the 
whole.  This  dress  is  worn  single  or  double,  but  always  in  winter  the 
hair  within  and  without.  The  dress  of  the  women  differs  little  from 
that  of  the  men.1  The  U.  S.  National  Museum,  through  the  kindness 


Fig.  57. 

M'»r\slN  <>K  ATHAPASCAN    INDIANS,   ANDKHSON    HIVKIi. 

NORTHERN  CANADA. 
Cut.  No.  1336,  V.  S.  N.  M      r,,llrrtril  liy  C.  I',  <iaii.ii". 


" Mackenzie's  Voyages,"  pp.  »-xv  .-mil  lL'U-122. 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

of  R.  MacFarlane,  B.  R.  Ross,  Robert  Kennicott,  C.  P.  Gaudet,  and 
others,  possesses  a  number  of  rare  specimens  of  this  shoe,  stocking 
and  long  legging  all  in  one  piece,  made  of  excellent  tawed  caribou 
skin  and  richly  decorated  with  beadwovk. 

The  Carriers  (Athapascans)  of  Stuart  Lake,  British  Columbia,  origi- 
nally wore  a  moccasin  of  elk  skin  (Cervus  canadensis}.  But  the  poorer 
classes  made  shoes  of  untauned  marmot  skin,  or  even  of  the  skin  of 
the  salmon.  They  are  now  of  dressed  caribou  or  of  moose  skin  among 
the  Carrier  and  the  Tse'kehne  and  of  deerskin  among  the  Tsilkoh'tin. 

These  tribes  went  barefooted  in  rainy  weather,  the  women  and  chil- 
dren still  adhering  to  the  custom.  No  Carrier  would  now  undertake  a 
journey  without  the  traditional  moccasins.1 

The  Nascopi  Indians  of  Labrador,  contiguous  to  the  Eskimos,  have 


Pig.  58. 

MOCCASINS   OF  NASCOP1    (ALGONQU1AN)    INDIANS,    LABRADOR. 

From  a  figure  in  TurnerV   "  Ethnology  of  the  Ungava   District,  Hudson    Bay  Territory,"  Eleventh  Annual    Report  of  th«  Bureau  of 

Ethnology. 

Cat.  No.  90062,  U.  S.  N.  M. 

been  studied  by  Lucien  M. Turner,  who  sent  to  the  U.  S.  National  Museum 
examples  No.  90002  and  00063.  According  to  Mr.  Turner  the  deer- 
skin moccasin  is  thus  constructed:  ''The  footing  is  cut  out  first  in  the 
shape  of  a  parallelogram ;  the  edges  are  then  turned  up  and  creases 
made  around  the  part  that  covers  the  front  of  the  foot.  The  puckers 
are  held  in  position  by  a  stout  sinew  thread  run  through  each  one  and 
around  from  side  to  side  to  prevent  their  'bagging'  over  the  toes. 
The  sides  of  the  footing  and  the  heel  are  not  creased,  as  the  heel  seam 
takes  up  the  slack."  The  heel  seam  is  T-shaped,  the  horizontal  por- 
tion resting  on  the  ground.  In  the  example  figured  by  Turner  there 
is  no  "trailer."  At  the  tip  of  the  toe  there  is,  contrary  to  Athapascan 
fashion,  a  T-shaped  seam  also  (fig.  58).  This  mark  has  a  curious  distri- 
bution and  may  be  of  little  account.  The  tongue  or  upper  is  sewed  to 
the  edges  of  the  creases  on  the  sole  or  bottom  portion,  but  between 
the  upper  and  the  sole  oftentimes  a  narrow  welt  or  piping  of  skin  or 


1  A.  G.  Morice,  "Notes  on  the  Western  De'neX"  Trans.  Canadian  Inst.,  iv,  p.  163. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  349 

cloth  is  inserted.    The  superfluous  edges  of  the  aole  are  then  trimmed 

ott'  and  the  gaiter  top  is  sewed  on.  This  is  a  long,  narrow  strip  of 
interior  skin  of  sullicient  size  to  overlap  in  front  and  come  well  above 
the  ankh-s. 

Just  below  or  at  the  margin  of  the  top  a  long  thong  of  reindeer  hide 
is  inserted  through  several  holes,  which  allows  it  to  pass  around  the 
heel  and  below  the  ankles,  bringing  the  ends  in  front  over  the  tongue. 
One  end  of  the  top  is  carefully  laid  over  the  other  and  wrapped  round 
by  the  ends  of  the  thong. 

Certain  portions  of  the  hide  make  better  foot  wear  than  others.  The 
neck  is  too  thick  and  stiff  to  crease,  but  is  useful  for  tongues;  the  flanks 
are  too  thin.  The  sides  ot  the  hide  are  useful  for  bottoms;  the  flanks 
and  back,  scarred  by  grubs,  serve  for  tops  and  strings. 

For  wear  about  the  tent  the  gaiter  top  is  omitted  and  a  slipper  inoc- 
casin  worn,  which  is  held  on  the  foot  by  means  of  a  drawstring.  This 
low  form  is  adopted  largely  among  the  Canadian  white  population. 

A  single  deerskin  will  make  five  to  seven  pairs  of  moccasins  for  an 
adult,  and  as  they  last  but  two  or  three  weeks  as  many  as  fifteen  to 
twenty-live  pairs  are  necessary  for  each. 

The  Nascopi  are  of  the  Algonquian  family,  and  the  chief  character- 
istics of  their  moccasins  may  be  expected  in  all  the  tribes  of  the  United 
Slates  east  of  the  Mississippi  and  north  of  the  thirty-fifth  parallel. 

The  moccasin  of  the  Iroquois,  ah  ta  qua  o  weh,  was  made  of  deer- 
skin. In  the  modern  moccasin  the  front  part  is  worked  with  porcupine 
quills,  after  the  ancient  fashion,  while  the  lapel  which  falls  down  upon 
the  sides  is  embroidered  with  beadwork,  according  to  the  present  taste. 

The  legging,  giseha,  which  was  fastened  above  the  knee  and  descended 
upon  the  moccasin,  was  also  made  originally  of  deerskin  and  ornamented 
with  quill  work  upon  the  bottom  and  side,  the  embroidered  edge  being 
worn  in  front.  In  later  times  red  broadcloth,  embroidered  with  bead- 
work,  has  been  substituted  for  deerskin  in  most  cases.  Much  ingenuity 
and  taste  were  displayed  in  the  designs  and  in  the  execution  of  the  work 
upon  this  article  of  apparel.  The  warrior  might  well  be  proud  of  this 
part  of  his  costume.1 

Of  the  tribes  west  of  the  Mississippi,  Carver  says  that  the  shoes  of 
the  Naudowessies  are  made  of  the  skin  of  the  deer,  elk,  or  buffalo; 
these,  after  being  sometimes  dressed  according  to  the  European  man- 
ner, at  others  with  the  hair  remaining  on  them,  are  cut  into  shoes  and 
fashioned  so  as  to  be  easy  to  the  feet  and  convenient  for  walking.  The 
edges  round  the  ankle  are  decorated  with  pieces  of  brass  or  tin  fixed 
around  leather  strings  about  an  inch  long,  which  being  placed  very 
thick,  make  a  cheerful  tinkling  noise  either  when  they  walk  or  dance.2 
In  point  of  fact  during  the  good  old  days  of  the  buffalo  the  Sioux 
moccasin  of  the  trail  and  the  hunt  was  chiefly  of  buffalo  hide.  The 


'Lewis  H.  Monism,  '•L.'amir  <•!'  th«  Iniqiiois."  1S.M.  pp.  -_'i;:i-265. 
J  Carver,  "Three  Years'  Travels,"  Philadelphia,  171W,  p.  146. 


350  REPORT    op    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1894. 

large  proportion  of  Indian  foot  gear  exposed  for  sale  in  the  last  few 
years  have  been  made  by  the  women  of  this  stock.  A  full  set  from  any 
one  tribe  includes  very  many  designs.  There  seems  to  have  been  no 
collector  who  gave  attention  to  completing  such  sets.  The  U.  S. 
National  .Museum  is  rich  in  Sioux  material,  but  has  nothing  near  a 
perfect  series  from  any  Sioux  tribe. 

Example  No.  8535  is  a  modern  Sioux  moccasin,  consisting  of  a  sole 
of  rawhide  and  upper  of  .dressed  buffalo  hide  all  in  one  piece,  the  only 
seam  being  at  the  back.  The  sole  is  a  piece  of  an  old  peminican  case, 
showing  the  paintings  in  green  and  red,  attached  to  the  upper  by  whip- 
ping along  its  margin  so  as  to  leave  the  lower  half  of  the  margin  pro- 
jecting downward  and  raise  the  upper  above  the  ground.  The  tongue  is 
a  separate  piece.  The  ornamentation  consists  of  a  tribal  symbol  in  blue, 
green,  yellow,  red,  and  white  beads  sewed  on  separately.  A  lacing 
of  buckskin  thong  passes  through  slashes  around  the  heel  and  ties  in 
front  of  the  instep.  The  trailer  is  two  strings  close  together,  about 
an  inch  and  a  quarter  long.  Length,  10  inches  Collected  by  S.  M. 
Horton,  U.  S.  A. 

Example  No.  152855  is  a  pair  of  moccasins  belonging  to  the  Kiowa 
Indians  and  collected  by  James  Mooney,  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 
The  uppers  are  of  soft  leather,  dyed  blue,  and  ornamented  with  bead- 
work  and  cut  fringe.  The  fringe  is  a  marked  character  on  the  Kiowa 
moccasin.  The  sole  is  of  hard  rawhide  sewed  on  with  sinew.  Mr. 
Mooney  says  that  the  tongue  in  the  moccasin,  and  the  long,  fringed 
trailer  are  worn  by  both  Kiowa  and  Comanche  (Shoshoneau  stock). 

Example  No.  165811  is  an  Arapahoe  moccasin,  consisting  of  a  separate 
sole  of  rawhide,  cut  from  an  old  parfleche  case,  and  an  upper  made  of 
a  single  piece  of  buckskin.  The  manner  of  attaching  the  upper  to  the 
sole  should  be  observed :  The  margin  of  the  thick  sole  is  split  for  a  little 
way  all  around,  and  the  margin  of  the  buckskin  upper  is  attached  to  that 
portion  of  the  border  of  the  sole  that  is  above  by  whipping;  in  this  way 
the  stitching  does  not  come  in  contact  with  the  ground,  but  the  sole 
stands  off  as  in  a  regular  shoe;  in  fact,  by  splitting  the  margin  of  the 
sole  the  Arapahoe  Indian  woman  has  provided  herself  with  a  quasi 
welt.  This  same  process  of  splitting  and  sewing  is  shown  in  an  inter- 
esting manner  in  a  California  shoe  figured  in  the  report  of  the  Ray 
collection.  The  only  seam  that  appears  in  the  upper  part  of  the  shoe 
is  at  the  heel,  from  the  bottom  of  which  extend  two  long  trailing 
strings  close  together.  The  lacing  is  of  rawhide  thong  passing  through 
slashes  between  heel  and  ankle.  The  tongue  of  the  moccasin  is  sewed 
on  separately,  and  for  ornament  there  are  three  rays  of  blue,  red, 
yellow,  and  white  beads.  Length,  10  inches.  Collected  by  James 
Mooney.  Compare  the  Sioux  example,  No.  8535,  above  described. 

Lieutenant  Abort,  U.  S.  A.,  describes  the  Cheyenne  moccasin  as  made 
of  buffalo  hide  dressed  without  the  hair,  the  fronts  ornamented  with 
beadwork.  This  moccasin  has  only  one  seam;  that  is  on  the  outer  side 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVKL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  3f)l 

of  the  foot,  the  material  being  doubled  over  and  made  to  lit.  But  it  will 
be  seen  that  this  style  of  seaming  is  in  use  with  the  NY/.  I  Vice  ;md  the 
Shoshone.  The  inside  line  is  perfectly  straight,  as  among  the  Oinuhas 
and  some  I'oncas.  Another  style  is  of  antelope  skin  ;md  lias  trailers 
attached  to  tlie  heel.  Abert  says  that  the>e  are  worn  by  horsemen 
and  that  the  Cheyennes  believe  the  trailer  to  be  a  protection  from  the 
rattlesnakes. 

Examples  IMS7  and  »»9SS  are  buckskin  moccasins  made  in  one  piece, 
cut  out  so  that  the  seams  extend  down  the  back  of  the  heel  and  over 
the  top  of  the  foot,  with  puckering.  This  form  of  moccasin  is  peculiar 
to  the  Caddo  of  Texas.  Collected  by  Edward  Palmer. 

Frequent  reference  is  made  in  this  paper  to  the  "trailer,*  or  hi"-be- 
ga  ceg-che,  of  the  Sioux.  It  consists  of  one  or  more  little  rawhide 
strings  about  an  inch  long  trailing:  behind  the  heel  of  a  certain  type  of 
Indian  moccasin.  When  the  woman  cuts  out  the  skin  for  the  shoe  she 
leaves  hanging  on  the  edge  of  that  part  which  forms  the  horizontal 
seam  at  the  bottom  of  the  heel  the  little  tags,  strings.  <>r  tassels  that 
will  form  the  trailer.  Each  tribe  had  a  different  number  and  order  of 
this  part,  so  that  a  good  scout  is  said  to  have  been  able  to  tell  the  tribe 
to  which  an  Indian  belonged  by  the  mark  of  his  trailer  in  the  snow. 
.Mr.  Dorsey  once  told  the  writer  that  the  Omahas  had  a  habit  of  omit- 
ting or  disguising  the  trailer  as  a  part  of  their  strategy  in  war.  For 
many  examples  of  the  low,  beaded  moccasin  of  the  East,  Catlin's  and 
other  works  should  be  consulted. 

Turning  away  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  drainage,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  commence  at  Mount  St.  Elias.  The  Kwakiutl  and  other 
tribes  of  the  British  Columbia  coast  go  barefooted  the  year  round, 
according  to  Boas.  This  might  be  declared  of  all  primitive  maritime 
peoples  in  regions  where  the  want  of  warmth  did  not  stimulate  the 
invention  of  waterproof  foot  gear.  In  maritime  Europe  the  sabot  lifts 
the  foot  above  the  wet  sand  and  mud.  This  maritime  or  barefooted 
region  stretches  from  Mount  St.  Elias  to  the  Columbia  River.  It  is  the 
home  of  the  Koluschan,  Skittagetan,  Chimmesyan,  Wakashan.  and 
coast  Salishan  families;  the  route  of  the  Pacific  gulf  stream;  the  region 
of  abundant  sea  food  and  great  forests;  the  culture  region  of  the  great 
dugout  canoes. 

Example  No.  20797  (tig.  59)  is  a  moccasin  from  Sitka,  consisting  of 
three  pieces — the  footing,  the  vamp,  and  the  leg  piece.  The  sole  is  prob- 
ably of  soft  elkskin  cut  into  long  rectangular  form  and  rounded  in 
front.  In  the  rear  two  wedge-shaped  gores  are  cut  out  at  the  corners, 
leaving  a  right  trapezoid  extending  as  in  a  dovetail.  When  the  two 
edges  of  the  rear  are  brought  together  they  are  doubled  so  as  to  form 
a  I  shaped  seam  and  the  trapezoidal  piece  extends  outward  to  form  the 
trailer  of  the  shoe.  The  horizontal  seam  of  the  T  provides  for  I  he  tlat 
sole,  and  the  vertical  part  provides  for  the  extension  of  the  material 
well  up  around  the  heel  and  the  front  of  the  foot  as  in  an  ordinar> 


352 


REPORT    01'    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


slipper.  The  front  of  this  shoe  is  gathered  and  puckered  so  as  to  cover 
the  ends  of  the  toes  and  the  margin  of  the  foot.  The  vamp  or  back 
piece  is  sewed  to  the  margin  of  the  footing  and  extends  well  upward  on 
the  leg;  the  seam  connecting  this  with  the  sole,  and  also  the  two 
edges  of  the  sole  in  the  rear,  have  inserted  between  them  a  narrow 
piece  of  buckskin  acting  as  a  piping.  The  heel  portion  of  the  leg  is 
whipped  on  to  the  upper  margin  of  the  sole  in  such  a  way  that  a  small 
portion  of  it  extends  below  the  seam  like  a  lapel.  The  vamp  and  the 
heel  piece  extending  well  up  on  the  leg  are  wrapped  around  it  and  held 
in  place  by  cord  or  some  kind  of  a  garter.  Length,  10£  inches.  Col- 
lected by  J.  G.  Swan. 

Example  No.  23854  is  a  pair  of  moccasins  said  to  have  been  worn  by 
a  Nez  Perc6  Indian,  consisting  of  two  parts;  that  which  covers  the 
foot  and  a  short  legging  around  the  ankle.  The  body  of  the  shoe  is 

made  of  a  single  piece  of 
hide  cut  out  like  the  finger 
of  a  glove,  sewed  around 
the  toe  and  along  the  outer 
margin  of  the  foot  to  the 
heel  where  the  two  edges 
of  the  rear  end  of  the  pat- 
tern are  sewed  together  to 
form  the  upright  portion 
of  the  heel  and  also  a  hori- 
zontal seam  with  trailers 
at  least  1£  inches  apart. 
The  upper  border  or  leg 
ging  is  sewed  on  to  the 
upper  margin  of  the  shoe, 
and  a  portion  of  the  leather 
of  the  shoe  extends  back- 
ward to  form  a  tongue. 
The  top  of  the  foot  is  orna- 
mented with  beadwork  in  white,  black,  and  blue  beads.  Around  the 
ankle  is  a  strip  of  red  flannel  ornamented  with  blue  and  white  beads. 
The  strings  are  formed  of  buckskin  thong.  The  formation  of  this  shoe 
should  be  especially  observed,  as  it  differs  from  those  in  the  regions 
about  in  the  manner  in  which  the  seam  is  carried  around  from  heel 
to  great  toe.  Length,  10  inches.  Collected  by  J.  B.  Monteith. 

Example  No.  673  is  a  pair  of  shoes  from  the  Chinook  Indians  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  River.  This  shoe  consists  of  three  parts — 
the  sole,  the  upper,  and  the  legging.  The  sole  is  of  thick  rawhide 
and  sewed  on  to  the  upper  by  a  series  of  blind  stitches,  just  as  in  a 
modern,  cheap  slipper  or  eastern  moccasin.  The  upper  is  of  buckskin 
and  has  only  one  seam  at  the  back.  At  the  lower  end  of  this  seam  is 
a  trailer,  in  which  a  single  rawhide  string,  one-eighth  of  an  inch  wide,  is 


Fig.  59. 

ATHAPASCAN  TYPE  OF  MOCCASIN,   FROM  SITKA,  ALASKA. 
Cat.  No.  20797,  V.  3.  N.  M.     Collected  by  J.  G.  Swan. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


353 


supplied  nearly  all  the  way.  The  upper  is  extended  into  a  long  tongue, 
passing  to  the  top  of  the  legging.  The  legging  is  a  band  of  buckskin 
about  4  inches  wide,  sewed  to  the  top  of  the  upper.  The  shoe  string 
passes  through  slashes  in  the  upper  on  either  side  of  the  heel,  and  at 
the  instep  as  in  the  Athapascan  and  after  passing  once  or  twice  around 
the  ankle,  is  tied  in  front.  They  are  ornamented  by  beadwork  in  red, 
white,  green,  blue,  and  pink  beads.  The  designs  are  entirely  European. 
They  are  rights  and  lefts.  Length,  9£  inches;  height,  7  inches.  Col- 
lected by  George  Gibbs. 

The  moccasin  of  the  Shoshone  is  of  the  deer,  elk,  or  buffalo  skin, 
dressed  without  the  hair,  though  in  winter  they  use  the  buffalo  skin 
with  the  hair  side  inward,  as  do  most  of 
the  Indians  who  inhabit  the  buffalo  coun- 
try. Like  the  Ne/  Perc6  moccasin,  it  is 
made  with  ;i  single  seam  on  the  outer  mar- 
gin and  sewed  up  behind,  an  opening  be- 
ing left  at  the  instep  to  admit  the  foot. 
It  is  variously  ornamented  with  figures 
wrought  with  porcupine  quills,  and  some- 
times the  young  men  most  fond  of  dress 
cover  it  with  the  skin  of  a  polecat  and 
trail  at  their  heels  the  tail  of  the  animal.1 

Example  No.  105147  is  a  Shoshone  moc- 
casin, from  Wyoming,  made  of  smoked 
deerskin.  As  described  by  Lewis  and 
Clarke,  this  specimen,  collected  by  James 
Mooney,  is  all  in  one  piece,  with  the  seam 
at  the  side,  instead  of  having  a  separate 
sole  like  the  moccasins  of  the  prairie  tribes. 
Example  165148  from  the  same  tribe  has 
the  T-shaped  seam  on  the  toe.  Example 
22018  is  a  buckskin  moccasin  made  in  one 
piece  cut  out  so  that  the  seam  extends 
down  the  back  of  the  heel  and  around  the 
outer  margin  of  the  foot  quite  around  the 
toes.  The  edges  are  sewed  together  with  a  piping  in  the  seam.  Short 
tongue  sewed  on  as  in  a  modern  slipper,  lacing  through  slashes  about 
the  heel.  Long  trailers  from  seam2  and  short  ones  from  horizontal  seam 
of  the  heel.  Length,  9£  inches.  Wind  River  Utes,  collected  by  Major 
J.  W.  Powell. 

The  shoes  of  the  Hupa  (Western  Athapascan)  and  of  the  other 
Indians  of  northern  California  are  made  high  like  gaiters  and  arc  rut 
I  ruin  a  single  piece  of  buckskin  sewed  up  at  the  back  rather  carelessly 
by  a  buckskin  cord,  as  in  basting.  Down  the  instep  a  curious  scam  is 
formed  as  follows  (fig.  60):  The  two  edges  of  the  leather  are  slightly 

'"History  of  the  Lewis  and  riarki-  Expedition,"  189:;.  n.  N.  u  V,,rk.  pp.  5W-568. 
H.  Mis.  90,  pt.  2 23 


Fig.  60. 

PATTERN  ANIJ  BLIND  STITCHING  OK  HUPA 
MOCCASIN. 


354  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

split.  They  are  then  brought  together  as  in  joining  the  edges  of 
a  carpet.  A  loose  cord  of  sinew  is  laid  along  the  two  edges  and  a 
whipped  stitching  of  sinew  made  to  join  the. two  inner  margins  of 
the  edges  of  the  buckskin,  inclosing  at  the  same  time  the  loose  cord  of 
sinew. 

When  the  shoe  is  rounded  out,  the  two  outer  margins  of  the  leather 
come  together  on  the  outside  of  the  shoe  and  conceal  the  sewing  alto- 
gether. A  coarse  sandal  of  the  thick  portion  of  the  elk  hide  or  of  twined 
matting  is  worn  by  some  tribes  (fig.  61),  and  also  a  nicely  woven  leg- 
ging of  soft  basketry.  The  latter,  however,  belong  to  full  or  ceremo- 
nial dress.1 

Example  No.  24079  (fig.  62)  is  a  sandal  of  rushes  worn  by  the  Klamath 
Indians  of  northern  California  (Lutuainian  family),  collected  by  L.  S. 
Dyar.  It  is  only  half  finished,  and  shows  the  method  of  construction. 


26. 

Fig.  61. 

MOCCASINS  OF  CAHROC  AND  HUPA  INDIANS,  NORTHERN  CALIFORNIA. 
Cat  Nos.  21437  and  79197,  V.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Stephen  Powers  and  Capt.  P.  H.  Ray,  U.  S.  A. 

The  foundation  is  laid  on  eleven  twine  warp  strands,  as  in  the  Japanese 
sandal  of  thread,  spreading  apart  toward  the  toes.  The  weft,  however, 
is  in  twined  weaving,  and  the  work  is  carried  up  to  cover  the  toes  as 
in  a  light  slipper,  as  will  be  seen  on  Korean  and  Chinese  examples. 
Along  the  margin  of  the  sole  loops  have  been  left,  as  in  the  Asiatic  spe- 
cimens figured  and  described.2  Especial  notice  must  be  taken  of  this 
specimen  occurring  in  northern  California  because-itis  the  first  intima- 
tion at  the  north  of  the  sandal,  which  will  a  little  later  on  usurp  the 
place  of  the  moccasin. 

Example  No.  9549  (fig.  03)  is  a  pair  of  Navajo  moccasins  from  New 
Mexico  (Southern  Athapascan),  consisting  of  three  parts — sole,  vamp, 
and  heel.  The  sole  is  of  rawhide  turned  up  in  front  of  the  great  toe 
and  about  the  foot  for  a  half  inch  or  more  around  the  entire  margin. 


'Mason,  "The,  Kay  Collection  from  Hupa  Reservation,"  Rep.  Smithsonian  lust., 
1886,  p.  210. 
2  Ibid,  pi.  vi. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


355 


The  vamp  is  of  brown  deerskin,  or  smoke-cured  deerskin,  very  neatly 
sewed  to  the  margin  of  the  rawhide  sole  all  the  way  around,  and  the 
stitches  are  all  finely  puckered.  This  work  is  suggestive  of  the  Eskimo 
shoemaker.  The  heel  (or  what  is  commonly  called  the  quarters  and 
legging)  consists  of  a  broad  strip  of  buckskin  attached  to  the  sole  back 
of  the  arch  of  the  foot,  having  a  long,  wide  flap  which  passes  from  the 
inner  side  of  the  foot  across  the  instep,  ami  is  buttoned  at  the  ankle  on 
the  outside.  No.  O.ViO  !ig.  M]  is  of  the  same  character,  excepting  the 
quarter  piece  is  fastened  with  a  thong  rather  than  with  buttons. 
Length,  10  inches.  Collected  by  E.  Palmer. 

It  is  worth  noticing,  in  passing,  that  the 
Baiter  tops  of  the  Navajo,  who  are  Athapas 
can,  H  here  modified  to  a  modern  style,  and 
that  the  soles  are  of  such  primitive  fashion 
that  they  may  be  said  to  stand  for  the  lirst 
of  all  rawhide  foot  wear.  The  Apache  boot, 
as  a  protection  against  the  thorny  plants  of 
their  desert  country,  resembles  the  classical 
onlroniis,  figured  in  the  third  edition  of 
Smith's  Dictionary.  But  it  is  after  all  the 
Athapascan  legging  and  moccasin, combined 
with  the  addit  ion  of  a  rawhide  sole  having  a 
broad  point  turned  up  in  front.  Now.  the 
Apache  is  also  an  Athapascan.  The  long 
seam  down  the  inside  of  the  leg  is  made  by 
turning  one  margin  down  for  half  an  inch, 
laying  the  other  margin  against  the  crease 
and  whipping  the  doubled  and  the  single 
edge  together  with  sinew  thread.  For  at- 
taching the  upper  to  the  sole  the  raw  edge  of 
the  former  is  doubled,  the  upper  margin  of 
the  latter  is  beveled,  the  two  are  whipped 
together,  and  then  the  sole  projects  out- 
ward to  conceal  and  protect  the  seam. 

The  following  types  of  moccasins  may  be 
noted: 

1.  Athapascan  type,  with  gaiter  or  extension  top.  Footing  of  one 
piece,  with  seam  at  the  heel  and  straight  up  the  back  or  top  of  the  foot 
to  an  ornamental  tongue  piece.  The  extension  top  is  sewed  to  the 
footing  so  as  to  extend  downward  in  a  curtain  to  conceal  the  lacing. 

l*.  Tlingit  type,  like  the  Athapascan.  l>nt  without  seam  in  front,  the 
tongue  piece  covering  almost  entirely  the  back  of  the  foot.  Top  not 
extending  downward  to  cover  the  lacing.  Trailers  are  present. 

3.  Algonquian  type,  very  similar  to  the  Athapascan,  but  having  a 
cross  seam  in  front  of  the  toes,  meeting  the  seam  from  the  front  of  the 
tongue  piece.  These  three  forms  merge  into  the  Eskimo  at  the  north 
and  the  low  moccasins  at  the  south. 


Kip.  62. 
WOVEN  <;KASS  SANDAI.  OK  KLA.MATH 

tl.ni'AMIAN)      INDIANS.     NORTHERN 
CAUKOHMA 


V  M.     r..ll«-t-J  by  Oupt. 
I'.  H.  R»T,  L'.  B,   x 


356 


EEPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


4.  Iroquoian  pattern.     Footing  slipper  like,  with  lapels  at  the  side; 
embroidered.     The  tongue  piece  is  set  into  the  puckered  border  of  the 
footing.     In  modern  examples  linings  are  introduced. 

5.  Siouari  pattern.     In  recent  times  with  rawhide  sole,  beaded  top, 
and  lapels.     The  Shoshonean  variety  of  this  type  has  a  seam  from  the 
heel  around  the  outer  margin  of  the  foot,  quite  to  the  inside  of  the 
great  toe,  and  this  was  doubtless  the  earlier  Siouan  form.     Frequently 
heavy  buckskin  fringes  adorn  the  heel  seam  and  the  top  of  the  foot. 

6.  Desert  type.    Found  in 
the    Great    Interior    Basin 
from  Utah  to  Mexico ;  charac- 
terized by  a  heavy  rawhide 
sole  turned  up  in  a  peculiar 
manner  to  protect  the  end  of 
the  great  toe  from  thorns. 

7.  The  Caddoan  type. 
Gaiter  form,  with   straight 
seam  all  the  way  up  the  heel 
and  entirely  across  the  top  or 
back  of  the  foot,  with  seams 
often  elegantly  puckered  on 
the  toes. 

At  this  point  it  is  neces- 
sary to  make  an  abrupt  stop 
on  the  borderland  of  the 
Spanish  territory.  Passing 
the  moccasin,  the  student 
arrives  at  the  land  of  the 
sandal,  just  on  the  southern 
boundary  of  Colorado  and 
Utah.  Here  he,  encounters 
two  radically  different  types 
of  sandal,  the  one  now  in 
common  use  throughout 
Latin  America,  having,  as 
in  Japan,  a  single  toe  string 
between  the  first  and  the  second  toe,  and  the  older,  aboriginal,  and 
now  quite  disused  type  having  a  toe  loop  or  two  toe  strings,  one  be- 
tween 1  and  2,  the  other  between  3  and  4.  Through  the  courtesy 
of  Prof.  F.  W.  Putnam,  Mr.  Marshall  Saville,  and  Mr.  Stewart  Culin, 
I  am  able  to  extend  the  rather  meager  collection  of  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum. 

Example  No.  13013,  Museum  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  is 
a  sandal  from  the  cliff  dwellings  of  Arizona.  It  consists  of  sole, 
lining,  and  lacing.  The  sole  is  in  yucca  leaves,  diagonally  woven  or 
plaited  six  ply.  On  top  of  the  sole  is  an  insole  or  lining  of  corn  husk. 


Figs.  63  and  64. 

MOCCASINS  OF  NAVAJO  (ATHAPASCAN)  INDIANS,  NEW  MEXICO. 
0:it.  Nos.  9549  and  95M,  U.  .«.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Edward  Palmer. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  357 

The  lacing  consists  of  a  series  ol'  loops  around  the  margin  of  the 
sole,  through  which  a  tie  of  yucca  string  passes,  as  in  the  Indian 
cradles  and  sleds.  The  heel  loops  pass  from  two  of  those  before  men- 
tioned around  the  heel  and  down  to  the  sole  under  tin-  ankle.  (PI.  5, 
tig.  I.i  Sandals  from  the  Kentucky  caves  should  be  studied  in  this 
connection. 

Example  No.  12155/>,  in  the  Pea-body  Museum,  is  a  coarse  sandal  of 
yucca  fiber,  collected  by  Edward  Palmer  in  an  abandoned  camp  in 
I'tah.  It  is  in  the  form  of  an  openwork  slipper,  made  up  of  a  fore-and- 
aft  warp  held  in  place  by  nine  rows  of  cross-twined  weaving  at  varying 
distances  apart.  The  lacing  is  gathered  into  the  outer  margin  of  the 
sole.  The  Utes  are  adepts  at  the  twined  basketry,  and  in  this  example 
possibly  have  attempted  to  imitate  a  low  shoe  or  moccasin  after  their 
own  fashion.  (PI.  •">.  fig.  2.) 

Kxample  No.  22192,  in  the  IT.  S.  National  Museum,  is  a  sandal  from 
Ye/o,  worn  by  the  Ainos,  and  here  introduced  for  comparison  with 
American  examples,  devoid  of  toe  strings  and  fastened  on  entirely  by 
lacing  through  loops  on  the  side  and  heel  loops.  (PI.  ~>,  tig.  3.) 

Example  No.  12155c,  in  the  Peabody  Museum,  is  a  sandal  of  yucca 
fiber  found  in  an  old  Ute  camp.  It  is  much  dilapidated,  but  shows 
elements  of  twined  weaving,  side  loops,  and  cross  lacing.  Inside  is 
stuffed  an  old  rag,  part  of  a  knit  stocking.  (PI.  5,  tig.  4.) 

In  an  old  abandoned  camp  in  southern  Utah,  in  the  cedar  forests 
near  Mount  Trumbull,  Edward  Palmer  found  a  number  of  Pah-Ute 
sandals  which,  by  the  kindness  of  Professor  Putnam,  I  am  privileged 
to  describe.  All  of  them  are  of  yucca  fiber,  and  are  as  coarsely  made 
as  sandals  can  be.  Two  of  them,  examples  Nos.  12155«  and  9439,  are 
of  Asiatic  pattern,  and  two  of  them  are  in  coarse-twined  weaving. 
These  will  be  better  described. 

Example  No.  20929,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  is  an  old  sandal  from 
Utah,  made  of  coarse  yarn  of  yucca  fiber,  woven  .on  a  warp  of  two 
strands  of  the  same  material  in  figure  of  8  pattern,  the  loose  ends  always 
left  underneath.  The  toe  strings  that  projected  from  the  end  of  the 
sole  are  gone,  and  there  is  left  of  the  lacing  only  the  loop  that  encir- 
cled the  heel.  (PI.  6,  fig.  1.) 

Example  No.  12155a,  in  the  Peabody  Museum, 'is  an  extraordinary 
specimen.  The  double  warp  is  the  same  as  in  fig.  4  of  this  plate, 
and  so  is  the  heel  covering  and  overloe  lacing  arrangement,  but  there 
is  in  addition  a  series  of  loops  on  the  side  between  the  toe  and  the 
ankle  as  in  other  sandals.  We  have  here  a  combination  sandal,  all 
t lie  elements  of  which  are  to  be  seen  in  the  Japanese  types.  (PI.  6, 
fig.  2.) 

Example  No.  128173,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  precisely  similar  to 
example  No.  11(5211,  figured  and  described  on  page  331  of  this  paper, 
is  here  introduced  for  comparison  of  the  overtoe  string,  lugs  on  the 
sides,  heel  loops,  and  especially  the  wicker  weaving.  All  loose  ends 


358  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

are  iii  this  shaved  oil'  on  the  bottom.  This  specimeii  was  presented  by 
the  Japanese  department  of  education.  (PI.  <>,  fig.  3.^ 

Example  No.  9439,  in  the  Peabody  Museum,  is  a  sandal  from  southern 
Utah,  built  after  one  of  the  Japanese  patterns.  A  coarse  bundle  of 
yucca  fiber  3  feet  long  is  doubled  in  the  middle,  and  on  this  as  a  warp 
the  sole  of  the  sandal  is  woven  from  other  bundles  in  a  figure  of  8 
wickerwork,  the  coarse  ends  always  appearing  underneath.  At  the 
heel  the  fiber  is  wrapped  around  the  bend  of  the  warp.  The  sole  is  9 
inches  long.  At  the  tip  the  two  ends  of  the  warp  are  tied  in  a  single 
knot,  the  remainder  serving  as  lacing.  For  heel  and  instep  strap  a 
bundle  of  twisted  fiber  2  feet  long  is  doubled  in  the  middle  back  of  the 
heel,  the  two  ends  drawn  down  and  passed  inside  the  warp  strands 
beneath  the  ankle  and  are  then  brought  up  over  the  instep  and  tied. 
The  lacing  is  attached  to  this,  but  passes  over  the  toes  instead  of 
between  them,  just  as  in  some  Eastern  examples.  (PI.  6,  fig.  4.) 

Example  No.  22717,  Peabody  Mnseurn,  is  a  child's  sandal  from  Aca- 
tita  Cave,  Coahuila,  Mexico,  made  from  unsh redded  yucca  leaf.  Tlie 
warp  is  a  leaf  bent  in  the  middle,  the  two  ends  projecting  at  the  heel 
and  shredded.  The  weft  is  a  very  coarse  wicker  of  yucca  leaf.  The 
whole  is  bound  together  by  a  leaf  brought  up  through  the  sole  near  the 
heel  (a),  down  again  near  the  toes  (6),  forward  and  up  around  the 
front,  spliced  througli  itself  at  ft,  under  the  sole  and  spliced  through 
itself  at  a.  The  two  toe  strings  have  their  front  ends  tied  together  in 
a  square  knot  underneath,  are  spliced  through  the  binding  piece  to  go 
between  toes  1  and  2,  and  3  and  4,  are  attached  to  the  margin  under 
the  ankle,  and  then  pass  up  and  around  the  heel  in  the  usual  manner. 
(PI.  7,  fig.  1.) 

Example  No.  45610a  is  a  sandal  from  Mexico.  It  is  built  upon  two 
yucca  leaves  bent  double  in  front,  the  one  overlying  the  other.  In  each, 
the  under  half  is  warp ;  the  upper  half  is  doubled  down  on  top  and  used 
to  strengthen  the  whole.  The  toe  strings  inclose  I  and  2,  and  3  and  4, 
and  do  not  cross  on  the  back  of  the  foot.  Heel  strap  missing.  (PL  7, 
fig.  2.) 

Example  No.  45610,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  is  a  child's  sandal  from 
a  cave  near  Silver  City,  N.  Mex.  It  is  in  figure  of  8,  or  wicker  weaving 
on  two- warp  filaments.  All  lashing  is  absent.  (PL  7,  fig.  3.) 

Example  No.  22833,  in  the  Peabody  Museum,  is  an  old  sandal  from 
Coyote  Cave,  Coahuila,  Mexico.  In  this  specimeii  the  yucca  warp  is 
carelessly  laid  along  and  held  together  by  means  of  cross  sewing  with 
the  same  material.  On  top  of  all  a  spliced  wide  leaf  occurs,  as  in 
tigs.  1  and  2.  A  neat  two-ply  cord  forms  the  toe  string,  doubled  in 
the  middle,  rove  through  the  fabric  near  the  front,  so  as  to  go  between 
toes  1  and  2,  and  3  and  4,  back  to  the  sides  of  the  sole  under  the  ankle, 
where  the  ends  pass  through  the  heel  string  and  are  fastened  off  with 
a  single  knot.  The  heel  string  is  a  very  pretty  piece  of  square  plaiting, 
as  in  whip  lashes.  Its  ends  are  attached  to  the  ends  of  a  separate  twine 


EXPLANATION     OF     PLATE     5. 


SANDALS  WITH    MARGINAL    LOOPS  FOR    LACING.     CLIFF-DWELLERS  OF   ARIZONA. 

Fig.  1 .  $ANI>AL  OF  YUCCA  FIBEK.  Insole  of  corn  husk  and  lacing  of  yucca  strips. 
Lent  by  Mr.  Stewart  C'ulin. 

(.Cat.  No.  13013,  Museum  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  > 

Fig.  ','.  SANDAL  FROM  AN  OLD  CAMP  IN  SOUTHERN  UTAH.     The  warp  is  of  shred- 
ded yucca  fiber  and  the  weft  in  twined  weaving  of  the  same  material. 
(Cat.  No.  12155  (b),  Peabody  Museum,  Cambridge,  Mass. ) 

Fig.  :{.  SANDAL  OF  BAST  FIBER  WOVEN  IN  WICKER  PATTERN.     Lacing  of  straw. 
twined.     (To  be  compared  with  fig.  1.)     Worn  by  the  Ainos  of  Yezo. 
(Cat.  No.  22192,  U.  S.  N.  M.) 

Fig.  4.  SANDAL  FROM  SOUTHERN  UTAH.  This  is  similar  to  the  specimen  shown 
in  fig.  "2.  Inside  is  a  portion  of  a  knit  stocking  in  cotton  yarn.  The 
lacing  is  the  same  as  that  shown  in  the  other  figures  of  the  plate.  The 
specimen  was  found  in  an  abandoned  camp. 

("Pat   Xo.  12155  tr\  Poabody  Museum.  Cambridge,  Mans.) 


Report  of  National  Museum,  1 894.—  Mason. 


PLATE  5 


SANDALS  WITH  MARGINAL  LOOPS  FOR  LACING. 

Cliff-dwellers  of  Ari/.una. 


EXPLANATION     OF     PLATE    6. 


SANDALS   WITH    OVERTOE    LACING. 

Fig.  1.  SANDAL  OF  SHREDDED  YUCCA  FIBKH.  Made  on  a.  warp  of  two  strands. 
Southern  Utah. 

<  Cat.  No.  20929,  U.  S.  N.  M.) 

Fig.  •>.  SANDAL  OF  SHREDDED  YUCCA  FIBER.  Based  on  a  string  of  the  same 
material  doubled,  the  ends  of  which,  drawn  over  the  toes,  serve  as  lacings 
through  the  loops  along  the  margin.  The  loop  over  the  heel  is  of  the 
same  material. 

(Cat.  No.  12155  (a),  P«alxxly  Museum,  Cambridge,  Mass.; 

Fig.  :>.  JAPANESE  SANDAL  MADE  OF  STRAW.  The  foundation  is  a  long  twine  of  the 
same  material,  twice  doubled,  to  form  at  its  middle  two  loops  extended 
at  the  heel  and  at  its  ends  to  constitiite  the  lacing,  which  passes  over 
the  two  toes,  through  the  loops  or  lugs  at  the  sides,  through  the  heel 
loops  and  over  the  instep,  where  they  are  fastened.  From  the  Japanese 
Department  of  Education. 

i  ( 'at.  No.  128173,  U.  S.  N.  M.) 

Fig.  A.  SANDAL  OF  SHREDDED  YUCCA  FIBER.  This  sandal  is  built  up.  like  those 
shown  in  figures  1  and  2,  by  wicker  weaving  on  a  warp  of  coarse  twine 
of  the  same  material,  the  ends  of  which  form  the  overtoe  strings.  After 
l>eing  laced  around  the  heel  they  are  tied  over  the  instep. 

CCat.  No.  !MJW.  Pealxxly  Museum,  Cambridge,  Mass.) 


Report  of  National  Museum,  1894. — Mason. 


PLATE  6. 


SANDALS  WITH  OVERTOE  LACING. 


EXPLANATION    OF    PLATE    7 


SANDALS  WITH  DOUBLE  TOE-STRINGS. 

Fig.  1 .  CHILD'S  SANDAL  OF  YUCCA  LEAF.  This  sandal  is  based  on  a  single  leaf, 
doubled.  The  wicker  weaving  is  held  together  by  another  leaf  doubled 
and  spliced  over  all  longitudinally.  A  lacing  of  strips  of  yucca  leaves 
passes  between  toes  I  and  2,  and  8  and  4.  The  heel  band  is  missing. 
From  Acatita  Cave,  Coahuila.  Mexico. 
(Cat.  No.  22717.  U.  S.N.M.) 

Fig.  2.  CHILD'S  SANDAL.     This  specimen  is  of  similar  construction  to  that shown 
in  fig.  1,  but  is  much  \vorn.     No  lacing  is  shown.     Mexico. 
(Cat.  No.  45610  (a),  U.  S.N.M.  > 

Fit;.  :!.  CHILD'S  SANDAL.     This  specimen  is  from  a  cave  near  Silver.  City,  New 
Mexico,  and  is  of  the  same  material  and  construction  as  the  specimen 
shown  in  the  preceding  figure, 
i  Cat.  No.  45610,  U.  S.  N.  M.) 

Fig.  4.  SANDAL  OF  SHREDDED  YUCCA  FIBER.  The  specimen  is  similar  in  original 
design  to  fig.  1  in  warp,  weft,  and  spliced  binding,  but  it  has  been  much 
worn  and  repaired.  The  lacing  is  of  fine  twine  and  braiding.  It  consists 
of  the  toe  strings  between  1  and  2,  and  3  and  4.  The  heel  strings  are  of 
braid,  and  the  ankle  strings  of  the  same  material.  All  of  these  are 
attached  to  one  another  just  below  the  ankles.  From  Coyote  Cave, 
Coahuila,  Mexico. 

(Cat.  No.  22833,  Peabody  Museum,  Cambridge,  Mas-s.  > 

Fig.  5.  SANDAL  FROM  A  MUMMY.  Constructed  precisely  like  th«  specimen  shown 
in  fig.  4,  and  found  in  the  same  cave. 

(Cat.  No.  22850.  Peabody  Musourn,  Cambridge,  Mass.  . 


Report  of  National  Museum,  1894.—  Mason. 


PLATE  7. 


SANDALS  WITH  DOUBLE  TOE-STRINGS. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  359 

rove-  through  the  fabric  of  the  sole,  the  latter  being  tied  with  the  clove 
hitch.     (PI.  7,  fig.  4.) 

Example  No.  22850,  Peabody  Museum,  is  a  sandal  from  a  mummy  in 
Coyote  Cave,  Coahuila.  Mexico.  This  example  shows  very  clearly  the 
carelessly  laid  warp  and  the  cross  weaving  and  sewing,  which  are 
doubtless  repairs  of  a  much  worn  sandal.  The  toe  string  in  this  case 
is  continuous,  passing  between  1  and  2,  and  3  and  4,  back  through  the 
sole;  the  ends  make  half  hitches  and  are  continued  to  form  the  heel 
string.  (PI.  7,  fig.  5.) 

The  sole  of  the  cliflf  dweller's,  the  Utah  man's,  the  New  Mexican 
mound  and  eave  man's  sandal,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  plate,  is  of  vege- 
tal fiber,  Indian  hemp  (Apocynum),  yucca  of  many  species,  and  hene 
quen,  sisal,  or  agave  (Ixtli). 

l«'or  the  most  part,  they  are  rights  and  lefts,  but  not  a  few  of  them 
that  are  built  on  a  warp  are  quadrilateral. 

In  texture,  they  are  either  in  corded  weaving,  with  warp  and.weft 
variously  treated;  or  if  the  material  be  coarser,  they  are  in  wicker- 
work,  or  they  are  plaited  or  woven  diagonally,  but  one  and  all  have  a 
toe  loop  or  string  that  pierces  the  sole  in  two  places  and  passes  up 
between  toes  1  and  2,  and  3  and  4.  This  forms  the  basis  of  a  lacing,  and 
is  variously  treated,  but  a  description  of  the  figures  will  make  the 
matter  perfectly  plain. 

Example  No.  13014  is  from  a  clift'  dwelling  in  Arizona.  The  warp  and 
weft  are  of  a  fiber  strongly  resembling  that  of  Apocynum  cannabinum. 
The  weft  is  finely  spun,  laid  close,  colored  in  narrow  stripes,  and  on  the 
under  side  the  meshes  are  caught  into  a  continuous  loop  or  coil  of  coarser 
thread,  making  that  part  more  durable.  At  the  front  the  projecting 
ends  of  the  warp  are  concealed  in  a  continuous  braiding  of  a  single 
thong  of  buckskin.  Two  perforations  show  where  the  toe  loop  came 
through.  Unfortunately,  this  part  is  wanting,  but  the  rest  of  the  lacing 
down  to  the  ankle  loops  and  up  over  the  heel,  returning  to  the  knot 
on  the  instep,  make  the  whole  treatment  plain.  (PI.  8,  fig.  1.) 

In  the  collection  of  Mrs.  T.  T.  Childs,  of  Washington,  is  a  sandal 
woven  in  wicker  pattern  from  a  two-ply  twine  of  AIHH-I/IUOH.  The 
heel  strap  and  lacing  are  administered  precisely  as  in  fig.  1,  but  the 
loop  in  front  of  agave  liber,  twined,  seems  to  have  included  the  first 
and  second  toes.  This  is  an  uncommon  form  of  toe  loop.  The  under 
side  of  this  sandal  also  is  worthy  of  study,  for  the  weaver  has  tied 
single  knots  in  her  cord  all  around  the  under  margin,  and  also  at  proper 
places  under  the  heel  and  under  the  ball  of  the  foot  where  the  strain 
would  come.  This  ingenious  device  stands  for  the  hobnails  in  peasants' 
shoes  of  more  advanced  peoples.  The  selvage  of  the  Childs  specimen 
is  formed  by  an  ingenious  turning  in  of  the  twines  in  the  course  of  the 
weaving  or  plaiting.  A  woven  heel  also  is  somewhat  turned  up. 

Example  No.  13015  is  from  a  din"  dwelling  in  Arizona  and  is  perfect 
in  all  its  parts,  which  are  four — the  sole,  the  toe  loop,  the  heel  loop, 


360  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 

and  the  lacing.  The  sole  is  of  yucca  leaf  ( Yucca  angustifolia)  woven  or 
plaited  diagonally,  and  needs  no  explanation.  The  toe  loop  is  a  sepa- 
rate part,  gathered  at  its  ends  into  the  texture  of  the  sole,  and  is  double. 
The  heel  loop  is  precisely  like  it,  caught  into  the  margin  under  the 
ankles  and  hooked  over  the  heel.  The  lacing  starts  from  the  instep, 
and  from  this  point  makes  three  loops,  to  wit,  about  the  toe  string  and 
about  each  side  of  the  heel  string,  returning  to  the  starting  point,  where 
it  is  knotted,  (PI.  8,  fig.  2.) 

Example  No.  45609  is  of  yucca  fiber  coarsely  plaited,  from  a  cave 
near  Silver  City,  N.  Mex.  All  the  lacing  above  is  in  one  continuous 
string,  starting  on  the  back  of  the  tees,  passing  down  through  the  sole, 
and  up,  where  a  single  knot  is  tied.  The  long  end  then  makes  an 
excursion  to  the  ankle  loops  and  around  the  heel,  coming  back  to  the 
single  knot  over  the  toes,  where  an  additional  square  knot  is  tied.  The 
treatment  at  the  heel  can  not  be  made  out,  owing  to  the  torn  condition 
of  the  specimen.  (PI.  8,  fig.  3.) 

Example  No.  13016,  from  a  cliff  dwelling  in  Arizona,  is  of  shredded 
yucca  fiber.  The  under  side  shows  the  structure  better.  There  is  a 
warp  of  four  ropes,  and  the  weft  is  woven  into  this  like  wicker,  all  the 
loose  ends  being  purposely  left  long  on  top  to  afford  a  soft  bed  for  the 
foot.  The  great  majority  of  Japanese  straw  sandals  happen  to  be 
woven  in  precisely  the  same  manner,  only  in  Japan  the  loose  ends  are 
cut  off  underneath.  All  the  lacing  is  gone  from  this  splendid  specimen 
save  the  well-defined  toe  loop.  (PI.  8,  fig.  4.) 

Example  No.  22716  in  the  Peabody  Museum  is  a  sandal  from  Acatita 
Cave,  Coahuila,  Mexico,  an  old  and  exceedingly  interesting  form.  The 
thick  sole  is  closely  woven  in  twisted  yucca  fiber  in  checker  pattern 
and  the  bottom  is  soaked  in  pitch  or  gum.  There  are  two  toe  strings, 
knotted  on  top  and  passing  between  1  and  2  and  3  and  4,  crossed,  per- 
haps, over  the  top  of  the  foot,  hitched  into  the  sole  at  the  margin  below 
the  ankle  and  passing  behind  the  heel.  This  should  be  compared  with 
example  No.  10119.  (PI.  9,  fig.  1.) 

Example  No.  22718  in  the  Peabody  Museum  is  a  substantial  sandal 
from  Acatita  Cave,  Coahuila,  Mexico,  made  of  yucca  fiber,  and  loaned 
by  Professor  Putnam.  The  underside  is  shewn  in  the  photograph. 
The  structure  is  a  little  obscure,  but  there  seems  to  be  a  mass  of  fiber 
felted,  and  sewed  together  with  coarse  yucca  yarn,  long  stitches  beneath 
and  short  stitches  above,  precisely  as  on  the  compound  soles  of  the 
Orient.  The  border  is  strengthened  by  stitching  all  round.  The  speci- 
men is  not  ancient  and  may  have  been  constructed  under  European 
motives.  (PI.  9,  fig.  2.) 

Example  No.  22183  in  the  Peabody  Museum  is  a  sandal  from  Coyote 
Cave,  Coahuila,  Mexico,  loaned  by  Professor  Putnam.  The  outline  is 
that  of  a  modern  round-toed  shoe.  The  fabric  is  of  yucca  fiber,  the 
warp  laid  along  loosely  in  wisps,  little  twisted,  but  the  loose  ends  are 
all  underneath.  This  warp  is  held  in  position  by  a  continuous  boustro- 
phedon  twined  weaving  of  two-ply  string  in  crooked  rows  from  half  an 


EXPLANATION    CF    PLATE    8. 


SANDALS  WITH  STRINGS  INCLOSING  SECOND  AND  THIRD  TOES. 

Fig.  1.  SANDAL,  MADE  OF  INDIAN  HEMP.     The  specimen  is  closely  woven  after 
the  pattern  of  California  basketry.     The  toe   string  is  missing.     The 
heel  string  and  lacings  011  top  of  the  foot  show  the  method  of  adminis- 
tration.    From  a  cliff -dwelling  of  Arizona.     Lent  by  Mr.  Stewart  Culin. 
('Cat.  No.  13014,  Museum  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  t 

Fig.  ~.  SANDALS   OF  YUCCA   LEAF   IN   DIAGONAL  WEAVING.     Toe  string,   heel 
string  and  lacing  of  the  same  material  and  in  the  same  pattern  as  fig.  1 . 
From  a  cliff-dwelling  of  Arizona.     Lent  by  Mr.  Stewart  Onlin. 
(Cat.  No.  13015.  Museum  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  i 

Fig.  :5.  SANDAL  OF  COARSE  YUCCA  FIBER  IN  DIAGONAL  WEAVING.     Toe  string, 
heel  string,  and  lacing  of  the  same  material. 
CCat.  No.  45609,  U.  $:  N.  M.> 

Fig.  4.  SANDAL  OF  SHREDDED  YUCCA  FIBER.  Wicker  weaving  based  on  ;i  warp 
of  four  ropes,  the  shredded  ends  on  top;  toe  string,  of  double  twine: 
heel  string  and  lacing  missing.  From  a  cliff-dwelling  of  Arizona. 
Lent  by  Mr.  Stewart  Culin.  » 

(Cat.  No.  13016.  Museum  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.) 


Report  cf  National  Museum,  1894.— Mason. 


PLATE  8. 


mm-  &•• 


SANDALS  WITH  STRINGS  INCLOSING  SECOND  AND  THIRD  TOES. 


EXPLANATION     OF     PLATE     9. 


ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  SANDALS  FROM  MEXICO. 

Fig.  1.  SANDAL  OF  YUCCA  FIBER.     Checker  weaving,  double  toe  string. 
Acatita  Cave,  Coahuila,  Mexico.     Collected  by  Edward  Palmer. 
(Cat.  No.  23716,  Peabody  Museum,  Cambridge,  Mass.) 


From 


Fig.  ~>.  SANDAL  OF  SHREDDED  YUCCA  FIBER.  Woven  so  as  to  leave  a  portion  of 
the  long  pile  on  top.  Perforations  for  double  toe  string.  From  Acatita 
Cave,  Coahuila,  Mexico.  Collected  by  Edward  Palmer. 

i  Cat.  No.  23718,  Peabody  Museum,  Cambridge,  Mass.) 

Fig.  :}.  SANDAL  OF  SHREDDED  YUCCA  FIBER  IN  TWINED  WEAVING.     This  sandal 
is  made  in  the  shape  of  the  foot  and  has  a  double  toe  string.     From 
Coyote  Cave,  Coahuila,  Mexico.     Collected  by  Edward  Palmer. 
('Cat.  No.  33813,  Peabody  Museum,  Cambridge,  Mass.) 

Fig.  4.  MODERN  SANDAL  OF  BAST  FIBER.     Plain  weaving,  with  double  toe  string 
crossing  over  the  back  of  the  foot,  fastened  to  the  ankle  string  on  either 
side  beneath  the  ankles  and  looped  over  the  heel.     Worn  by  the  Mohave 
(Yurnan)  Indians,  Arizona.     Collected  by  Edward  Palmer, 
i  Cat.  No.  10119,  Peabody  Museum,  Cambridge,  Mass.) 

Fig.  ">.  TYPICAL  LEATHER  SANDAL.  European  pattern,  with  single  toe  string. 
Worn  by  Indians  of  Coahuila,  Mexico.  Collected  by  Edward  Palmer. 

(Cat.  No.  22803,  Peabody  Museum,  Cambridge,  Mass.) 


Reporter"  National  Museum,  1894.— Mason. 


PLATE  9. 


ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  SANDALS  FROM  MEXICO. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  361 

inch  to  an  inch  apart.  The  border  is  further  strengthened  by  sewing 
all  round  with  a  yarn  of  yucca  fiber.  The  sandal  is  nearly  worn  out, 
and  the  toe  strings  have  been  set  back  as  though  for  a  smaller  toot. 
Enough  of  the  lacing  remains  to  show  that  two  toe  strings  passed 
between  1  and  2  and  3  and  4.  (PI.  9,  fig.  3.) 

Example  No.  10119  of  the  Peabody  Museum  is  a  quadrilateral  sandal 
of  the  Mohave  Indians,  Yuman  stock,  in  southwestern  Arizona,  loaned 
by  Professor  Putnam.  The  sole  is  a  coarse  example  of  checker  weav- 
ing in  strips  of  cotton  wood  bark.  The  warp  consists  of  a  series  of 
strips  doubled  at  the  toe,  so  that  all  ends  project  at  the  heel.  In  finish- 
ing off  these  are  turned  up  and  folded  on  top  where  they  are  held  in 
place  by  whipping.  The  whole  lacing  is  of  one  strip  of  bast,  doubled 
in  the  middle,  which  is  beneath  the  sole  at  the  toes.  The  ends  are 
brought  up  through  two  holes  in  front  to  inclose  toes  1  and  2,  and  3  and 
4,  crossed  over  the  top  of  the  foot,  rove  through  the  margin  of  the  sole 
under  the  ankle  and  then  twisted  onto  the  other  to  make  a  heel  band. 
In  older  forms  farther  south  the  toe-strings  do  not  cross  on  the  top  of 
the  foot.  (PI.  9,  fig.  4.) 

Example  No.  22863  in  the  Peabody  Museum  is  a  rawhide  sandal  from 
Coahuila,  Mexico,  consisting  of  two  parts:  (1)  A  simple  flat  sole  with  a 
hole  in  front  for  the  toe  string  and  two  gashes  under  the  ankle  for  the 
lacing;  (2)  the  lacing,  a  strap  half  an  inch  wide, knotted  underneath  the 
sole,  passing  up  for  a  toe  string  over  the  foot  and  down  to  the  gash 
under  the  outside  of  the  ankle,  making  a  half  hitch  there,  passing 
around  the  heel  to  the  gash  on  the  inner  side  and  making  a  half  hitch, 
and  thence  up  to  the  instep,  where  it  is  tied.  Collected  by  Edward 
Palmer  in  1880.  (PI.  9,  fig.  5.) 

If  the  reader  will  consult  the  illustrated  works  of  Charuay,  Maudslay, 
Schmidt,  and  the  earlier  travelers  to  Mexico  and  Central  America,  he 
will  find  that  in  every  case  where  the  artist  has  not  erred,  there  are  two 
toe-strings  or  a  loop  between  toes  1  and  2,  and  3  and  4.  Imagine  the 
knot  in  the  third  figure  of  my  plate  to  be  drawn  further  up  toward  the 
instep  on  the  back- of  the  foot,  and  the  thing  is  done.  Mr.  Alfred  P. 
Maudslay  writes  that  in  all  cases  the  strings  pass  between  toes  1  and 
2,  and  3  and  4.  In  the  codices,  the  sandal  on  the  feet  of  the  men  is 
not  easily  made  out.  The  sole  seems  to  recede  and  to  leave  the  toes 
free,  but  in  no  case  is  the  single-toe-string  visible. 

Example  No.  41828  (fig.  65)  is  a  shoe  worn  by  the  Wolpi  Indians  of 
northeast  Arizona  (Hopi  or  Moki  pueblos).  The  sole  is  dish  shaped, 
well  turned  up  around  the  foot.  The  upper  is  sewed  to  this,  and  is 
wrapped  around  the  ankle  precisely  as  in  the  modern  "uppers"  or 
false  gaiter  tops.  This  gaiter  top  is  made  fast  by  knots  at  three  sepa- 
rate points,  and,  in  addition,  a  thong  passes  about  the  heel  through 
lugs  or  loops  on  the  sole  just  in  front  of  the  aivli  of  the  foot,  and  is 
tied  over  the  instep.  At  once  the  similarity  will  be  noted  between 
this  example  and  those  from  the  Navajo  encamped  in  the  same  region. 

Example  No.  68657  is  a  shoe  from  the  Zuni  pueblo,  New  Mexico,  col 


362 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


lected  by  J.  W.  Powell,  Director  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology.  It  is 
made  from  the  fronds  of  the  Spanish  bayonet  ( Yucca  data)  split  and 
woven  diagonally.  As  this  form  of  moccasin  is  not  common  in  the 
region  and  is  unique  in  the  national  collection,  it  stands  for  an  innova- 
tion by  the  Zuili  in  imitation  of  modern  shoes.  Length,  8£  inches; 
height,  6  inches.  A  very  similar  form  is  example  No.  70999,  from  the 
Moki  or  Hopi  pueblo  in  northeastern  Arizona.  Indeed,  these  seven 
towns  have  preserved  to  us  all  the  types  of  basket  weaving  in  the 
United  States. 

In  seeking  to  trace  the  southern  limit  of  the  moccasin  or  shoe,  as 
against  a  plain  sandal,  it  is  well  to  remember  Vaca's  saying  that  the 

Pueblo  Indians  also  wore  shoes. 
He  had  not  mentioned  the  shoe 
before  and  was  surprised  at 
their  appearance,  so  it  is  evi- 
dent that  from  Florida  to  west- 
ern Texas  people  went  bare- 
footed. The  cactus  desert  may 
account  for  the  change.1 

The  Papago  and  other  Yuman 
tribes  in  southwestern  Arizona 
and  in  northwestern  Sonora 
are  sandal  wearers  now,  and 
their  foot-gear  is  akin  to  that 
of  the  South  and  of  Spain.  Ex- 
ample No.  174450  (fig.  66)  is 
one  of  half  a  dozen  pairs  col- 
lected by  W  J  McGee,  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  and  may  be  thus 
described : 

(1)  Soles  of  cow  rawhide,  hair  beneath,  pointing  indifferently ;  rights 
and  lefts,  cut  around  the  foot. 

(2)  Pierced  for  toe  string  and  slit  in  two  places  below  the  ankles  for 
the  ankle  strap,  as  in  a  skate. 

(3)  Toe  string  buttoned  under  the  sole  by  a  ratchet  produced  by 
leaving  a  portion  of  hide  to  be  turned  down.     The  other  end  of  the 
toe  string  is  slit  and  provided  with  loose  toggle. 

(4)  Ankle  strap,  a  strip  of  hide  with  ends  passing  up  through  the 
slits.    These  are  perforated  for  the  fastening  of  the  lashing,  which 
passes  over  the  foot,  through  this  ankle  strap,  behind  the  heel,  through 
the  other  ankle  strap  and  back  to  the  toe  string,  where  it  is  fastened 
oft'.    The  peculiar  button  or  ratchet  beneath  the  sole,  to  keep  the  ankle 
strap  in  position,  is  worthy  of  a  cultured  brain. 

Examples  19703  and  73001  are.  sandals  of  Diegenos  and  La  Costa 
Indians,  California.  They  are  made  of  Agave  deserti  fiber  woven  in 
coarse  filaments  over  a  warp  consisting  of  two  strands  of  coarse  twine 


Fig.  65. 

MOCCASIN   OF  WOLPI  PUEBLO   INDIANS,  ARIZONA. 
m  a  figure  in  the  Second  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 
Cat-  No.  41828,  U.  S.  N.  M. 


'Davis,  "Spanish  Conquest  of  New  Mexico,"  p.  101. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


303 


of  the  same  material.  There  are  two  loops  at  the  heel  and  one  loop  at 
the  ball  of  the  foot  passing  from  side  to  side  over  the  top  of  tin-  toot. 
Tin-  warp  strands  are  tied  together  at  the  toe,  drawn  up  over  the  foot 
under  the  loop  back  of  the  heel,  then  come  in  front  and  tie  around  the 
ankle.  Length,  12  indies.  Collected  by  Edward  Palmer. 

One  type  of  Mexican  sandal  sole  has  live  points  of  attachment  for 
the  lacing — one  between  the  toes,  one  on  either  side  opposite  the  mcta 
tarsals.  and  one  on  either  side  under  the  heel.     The  lacing  passes  around 


.  66. 


BAWHIUK  SANDAL  <>K   1-Al'AMO   (I-IMAN)    INDIANS,  SOfTHWESTKUN   AKI/.ONA. 
Cat.  No.  1744M),  U.  S.  N.  M.      Collrrtrtl  by  \V  J  Mr  (irr. 

the  heel  and  below  the  instep  across  the  front  part  of  the  foot,  connect- 
ing with  the  five  attachments  above  mentioned.  This  is  very  important 
in  the  study  oft  lie  .Mexican  shoe.  In  theclitt'dwellers  and  in  the  K  la  math 
examples  the  side  lacings  also  appear. 

Kxample  No.  17698,  in  the  1'eabody  Museum,  is  a  pair  of  sandals  from 
San  Luis  Potosi,  Mexico,  consisting  of  sole  and  lacing.  The  former  is  a 
strij)  of  harness  leather  worn  smooth  side  up.  They,  like  most  other 
Mexican  specimens,  are  cut  rights  and  lefts.  There  are  three  slashes 
along  either  margin,  between  the  ball  of  the  foot  and  the  point  l>eneath 


364 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1894. 


the  ankle.  The  lacing  is  a  strap  half  an  inch  wide,  looped  into  the 
front  gash  on  the  inside  and  passing  diagonally  to  2  on  the  outside, 
to  2  on  the  inside,  to  1  on  the  outside,  to  3  on  the  inside,  and  around 
the  heel. 

A  sandal  from  Puebla,  Mexico,  has  a  sole  of  rawhide  cut  to  fit  the  foot 
roughly,  the  margins  of  which  are  turned  up.  Along  each  side  six 
good-sized  holes  are  cut.  Beginning  at  the  front  left-hand  hole  a  strap 
one-fourth  of  an  inch  wide  is  woven  backward  and  forward  from  margin 
to  margin,  passing  under  and  over.  The  last  three  pairs  of  holes  on  each 
side  are  devoted  to  forming  a  heel  by  a  system  of  half  hitches.  Pieces 
of  soft  leather  slashed  and  woven  onto  the  lacing  protects  the  back  of 
the  foot  and  the  heel.  Length,  10£  inches.  Collection  of  Mrs.  Fannie 
B.  Ward. 

Example  No.  152732  is  a  pair  of  sandals  from  Colima,  Mexico  (fig.  67). 
These  consist  of  a  sole  and  upper  lacing.  The  sole  is  a  piece  of  tanned 
leather,  cut  somewhat  in  the  shape  of  the  foot.  Five  holes  are  pierced 


Fig.  67. 

MODERN   LACED  SANDAL  OK  LEATHER.    FROM  COLIMA,    MEXICO. 

C;it.  So.  1527IS2.  U    S.  N.  M.     Pullerf-ii  by  Kdwarii  P:iln 

through  each  side  margin  of  the  sole  for  the  lacing.  The  lacing  con- 
sists of  a  continuous  leather  string  one-eighth  of  an  incb  wide,  which  is 
attached  to  one  side  of  the  sole,  and  is  woven  backward  and  forward 
through  three  pairs  of  holes  in  the  margin  of  the  sole,  on  the  fourth 
round  a  half  hitch  is  made  and  the  string  carried  backward  to  form  the 
heel,  forward  by  a  half  hitch  through  the  sole,  and  then  over  the  foot 
to  the  other  side,  where  another  half  hitch  is  made,  and  another  string, 
passed  around  the  sole  through  a  hole  in  the  margin  and  back  again,  is 
fastened  off  in  a  pad  on  the  top  of  the  foot.  The  lacing  at  each  excur- 
sion passes  through  three  slits  cut  in  a  soft  piece  of  leather,  which  lies 
between  the  toot  and  the  lacing.  This  shoe  should  be  compared  with 
patterns  in  South  America  collected  by  Mrs.  Fannie  B.  Ward.  Length, 
9  inches.  Collected  by  Edward  Palmer. 

Example  No.  30382,  in  the  Peabody  Museum,  Cambridge,  is  a  pair  of 
sandals  worn  by  the  Maya  of  Yucatan,  which  are  rights  and  lefts;  sole 
double,  with  extra  heel  lift  beneath;  sewed  together  with  single  thong; 
lugs,  or  loops  on  the  margin  under  the  ankle.  The  tapering  rope  lacing 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


365 


passes  up  between  toes  1  and  2,  and  then  through  the  loop  over  the  instep 
and  heel  as  usual.  Length,  9£  inches.  These  are  modern  and  Latin 
American,  doubtless.  But  Mandslay  figures  elegantly  in  Biologia  Cen- 
tral Americana — Archaeology — statues  of  gods  wearing  sandals.  In  the 
photographs,  so  far  as  they  can  be  made  out,  and  in  the  lithographs, 
where  the  artist  has  followed  the  original,  the  double  toe  strap  passes 
down  between  toes  1  and  2,  3  and  4,  or  1  and  2,  2  and  3.' 

In  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History  are  two  portions  of  jars 
showing  the  strap  between  toes  1  and  2,  4  and  5.  One  from  Orizaba 
(No.  300)  has  the  inclosed  heel,  shown  on  the  Codices,  with  separate 
strings  running  between  the  toes  to  the  ankle  band.  The  other 
example  (No.  207),  from  Guerero,  is  more  complete.  The  leg  is  incased 
like  a  Zuiii  woman's;  strings  pass  from  this  leg  band  down  between 
the  toes.  An  examination  of  any  collec- 
tion of  pottery  from  Middle  America  re- 
veals the  fact  at  once,  if  the  human  foot 
is  portrayed,  that  the  single  toe  string 
was  not  anciently  known.2 

In  one  of  the  sculptured  monoliths  of 
Copan,  figured  by  Dr.  Julius  Schmidt, 
the  feet  of  the  god  are  incased  in  sandals 
very  much  like  those  of  the  Codices,  con- 
sisting of  a  sole  and  the  quarters  of  a 
shoe  without  the  vamp  (fig.  68).  In  the 
monolith,  however,  the  thong  passes  be- 
tween the  first  and  the  second  toe.3  In 
the  succeeding  monolith4  the  left  toes 
are  broken  off,  but  the  right  limb  pre- 
sents a  square  front  view.  The  thong 
passes  between  the  first  and  the  second 
and  the  third  and  the  fourth  toe,  and  is 
apparently  looped  or  concealed  in  a  ring 
or  horseshoe- shaped  object,  though  this 
may  be  only  an  artist's  flourish,  the  two 
ends  approaching  each  other,  turning 
outward  and  terminating  in  braids  in  which  a  loop  is  caught  which 
descends  from  a  highly  ornate  rosette  in  front  of  the  ankle.  Accord- 
ing to  Meye's  drawing,  the  sandal  is  unfastened  by  detaching  the  last- 
named  loops  from  the  braids  on  the  ankle  ring.  The  Eskimo  fashion  of 
attaching  a  similar  device  is  to  bring  the  upper  loop  under  a  ring 
a iu I  over  a  nail  head  or  stud.  Mr.  Saville  confirms  these  statements 
from  original  drawings. 

'Cf.  Part  ii,  pis.  34, 37.  ir>.  and  46,  and  Part  iv,  pis.  77,  79,  and  82. 

Charnay,  "Ancients  Villcs,"  p.  49,  and  elsewhere. 

Meye  and  Schmidt,  "  Stone  Sculptures  of  Copan  and  Quirigua,"  New  York,  1KH.S, 
Dodd,  Mead  &,  Co.,  pi.  HI. 
'iliid,  pi.  III. 


Fig.  «8. 

KOOT  OF  STATUE  AT  '  ,T  I K  I< ,  r  A .  GUATEMALA, 
SHOWING  DOUBLE  TOE  8TBINO. 

FruniH  figure  in  Meye »nd  Schmidt '«  "stone Sculpture* 
of  Copan  and  Quingua. " 


366 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


Iii  pi.  iv  of  Meye  and  Schmidt's  work  the  feet  of  the  image  are  turned 
sidewise,  and  the  sandals  exhibit  only  the  heels  attached  to  the  soles. 
The  feet  of  the  figure  in  pi.  V  are  said  in  the  description  to  be  clothed 
in  thick-soled  shoes  fastened  with  bows,  but  the  appearance  is  of  a 
moccasined  foot  resting  on  a  sandal.  The  squntting  figures  in  the  suc- 
ceeding plates  are  barefooted  and  wear  bandages  of  some  kind  about 
the  ankle.  PI.  xin  (fig.  19  b)  shows  a  masked  figure,  wearing  bands 
wrapped  four  times  about  the  lower  leg,  suggesting  the  leggings  of  the 
pueblo  women.  In  pi.  xv,  depicting  a  monolith  in  Quirigua,  the  feet  are 
gorgeously  covered,  either  with  a  shoe  consisting  of  sole,  vamp,  and  dec- 
orated quarters,  or,  in  what  would  be  more  American,  they  are  clothed 
in  moccasins  that  rest  on  a  heeled  sandal.  The  thickness  of  the  sole  in 
these  figures  leaves  one  puzzled  whether  this  feature  is  only  a  sculptor's 
decoration,  but  the  heel  band  is  still  worn  in  Moki  dances.1 

Mr.  im  Thurn  says  of  the  Guiana  Indians  that  they  make  sandals  from 
the  leaf  stalk  of  the  «ta  palm  (Mauritiaflexuosa),  to  be  worn  in  travel- 
ing over  stony  ground.  The  string  passes  between  the  great  toe  and 

the  next,  and  when  the  sandal  is 
much  worn  the  skin  is  made  callous 
by  the  string.  In  a  few  hours  the 
sandals  are  worn  out  and  new  ones 
cut  from  the  nearest  aeta  palm.2  Mr. 
im  Thurn  also  speaks  of  the  neat- 
ness with  which  they  fit  the  foot. 
This  form  is  of  Spanish  introduction. 
Fray  Simon,  speaking  of  the  In- 
dians encountered  on  the  Orinoco  by 
Aguirre's  party,  says  that  they  were 
naked,  but  had  on  the  soles  of  their 
feet  pieces  of  deerskin,  fastened  like  the  sandals  worn  in  Peru  or  like 
those  seen  by  him  in  the  provinces  of  the  Government  of  Venezuela.3 
In  Whymper's  "Great  Andes  of  the  Equator,"  page  143,  is  a  figure  of 
a  sandal,  with  sole  of  sennit  sewed  together,  and  the  upper  made 
of  woven  stuff  (fig.  69).  There  probably  would  be  no  doubt  in  the  mind 
of  any  student  that  this  foot  wear  was  actually  made  in  Spain.  The 
National  Museum  possesses  a  great  number  of  examples  of  this  peculiar 
type,  and  the  following  description  of  the  Spanish  example  may  be  com- 
pared with  the  Whymper  specimen.4 

1  Very  great  caution  should  be  used  in  the  practical  interpretation  of  sculptors' 
and  painters'  costume  and  implementa.  In  Catlin's  drawings  and  paintings  of  moc- 
casins the  very  decorative  features  of  the  sandals  on  the  statues  here  referred  to  are 
produced,  though  they  have  no  existence  in  fact. 

-"  Indians  of  British  Guiana,"  London,  1883,  p.  195,  quoted  by  Mason,  in  his  work 
on  the  "  Origins  of  Invention,"  Chapter  x. 

"Bollaert,  Publications  of  the  Hakluyt  Society,  28, 1861,  p.  105. 

4  For  the  sennit  sole,  cf.  Wiener,  "  Pe"rou  et  Bolivie,"  p.  680;  also  Reiss  and 
Stiibel,  "The  Necropolis  of  Aucon,''  pi.  88,  ng.4. 


Fig.  69. 

PERUVIAN  ALPARGATA  OR  SANDAL  WITH  BRAIDED 

SOLE.'' 
From  a  figure  in  Whymjx?r'8  "Great  Andes  of  the  Equator." 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  3G7 

The  braided-sole  sandal  of  Spain  has  in  it  some  noteworthy  Hun •;«• 
teristics.  The  sole  nowadays  is  made  of  esparto  grass.  l>nii<lt'<l.  coiled 
ingeniously  to  fit  the  b  ittom  of  the  foot  and  sewed  through  with  a  stout 
twine  of  different  material,  the  stitches  being  about  half  an  inch  apart. 
The  heel  and  toe  are  the  noteworthy  parts.  At  a  cursory  glance  these, 
when  made  of  coarse  material,  resemble  in  their  manipulation  the  twined 
weaving  of  savage  and  barbarous  peoples,  but  the  effect  is  produced 
by  "darning."  For  instance,  the  heel  cover  is  made  up  by  forming  a 
band  of  warp  twines — that  is,  passing  a  series  of  twines  backward  and 
forward,  catching  them  under  the  braided  sole  as  the  thrifty  house 
wife  proceeds  in  laying  the-foundation  for  darning  a  stocking.  This  is 
done  with  a  long  twine,  which  is  afterwards  made  a  quasi  weft  by  sewing 
it  across  the  band  of  warp  twines,  running  between  the  strands  of  each 
one,  but  not  in  any  regular  manner.  At  one  excursion  this  cord  extends 
entirely  the  length  of  the  foot,  pierces  the  band  of  cords  across  the  toe, 
returns  through  them  and  then  takes  up  its  excursions  through  the  heel 
band.  In  an  example  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  the  heel  is  built 
up  of  a  series  of  three  ply  loosely  twisted  hemp  cord.  The  embroidery 
of  the  weft  pierces  the  warp  twines  so  as  always  to  leave  one  strand 
outside  the  heel  and  two  strands  inside,  rendering  the  inside  much 
softer. 

There  is  a  low  side  strip  running  between  heel  and  toe  on  the  outer 
upper  margin  of  the  sole  made  up  of  two  or  three  rows  of  "button 
hole  stitches"  or  "half  hitches,"  each  row  looped  into  the  one  beneatl. 
it.  It  may  be  a  Spanish  device,  or  at  least  a  Latin  American  device, 
being  found  in  the  netted  bags  of  Latin  America  everywhere.  It  also 
occurs  in  the  fish  baskets  of  Tierra  del  Fuego.  Essentially  it  is  coiled 
work,  only  the  moving  part,  instead  of  running  on  by  a  coil,  passes 
under  or  behind  the  standing  part  each  time.  In  no  other  corner  of 
aboriginal  America  outside  the  Latin  area  has  the  author  seen  any 
such  work.  The  Fuegians,  in  addition  to  the  endless  chain. work  of  half 
hitches,  use  a  continuous  rod  running  through  the  links  to  give  body 
to  the  basket.  As  mentioned  elsewhere,  a  lacework  effect  is  produced 
by  passing  the  moving  part  two  or  more  times  about  the  standing 
part.  This  is  also  common  from  the  Southern  California  1 'a  pa  go 
through  Latin  America  to  Peru. 

Reiss  and  Stiibel's  gorgeous  work  on  "The  Necropolis  of  Ancon"  is 
poor  in  figures  of  foot  wear.  In  Volume  I,  "  Perou  et  Bolivie"  pi.  25,  fig. 
26  is  the  picture  of  a  very  interesting  sandal  of  leather.  On  the  margin 
of  the  sole  on  either  side  a  flap  is  turned  up  and  pierced  for  the  lacing. 
This  specimen  should  be  compared  with  Assyrian  and  Somali  forms  and 
with  the  sandal  of  La  Paz,  Volume  II,  pi.  1<»,  fig.  !>. 

Whymper  draws  attention  to  a  curious  economic  distinction  in  Kcua 
dor,  where  the  carriers  "were  paid  in  advance  and  had  to  be  provided 
with  shoes.  Although  natives  of  all  sorts  were  continually  met  with 


368 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


trudging  barefoot  along  the  roads,  whenever  one  was  hired,  he  found 
himself  unable  to  walk  without  shoes."1 

Wiener  relates  that  the  Indians  who  dwell  on  the  high  plateaus  of 
South  America,  obliged  to  walk  at  times  over  the  snow,  are  in  the  babit, 
when  they  skin  a  llama,  to  cut  out  a  piece  of  the  green  hide,  to  fit  it 
upon  the  foot  and  to  keep  it  bandaged  there  during  twenty-four  hours 
or  more  to  dry  into  shape  and  take  the  form  of  a  low  slipper.  The  wool 
is  left  on  the  outside.  Mummies  have  been  found  wearing  similar  foot 
gear,  the  foot  also  enveloped  in  a  sock-like  cover.  The  Indians  of  the 
Ceno  de  Pasco  preserve  this  custom.2 

Example  No.  127572,  from  Pachacamac,  Peru,  is  a  pair  of  sandals  (fig. 
70) from  a  mummy.  These  are  of  a  very  simple  pattern;  each  one  con- 
sists of  a  single  piece  of  rawhide  of  the  llama.  When  the  hide  was  in  a 
wet  or  green  condition  it  was  stretched  over  the  toe  and  up  about  the 
margin  of  the  foot,  slightly  rising  to  a  height  of  2  inches.  Back  of 

the  heel  a  series  of 
slits  were  then  cut 
all  around  the  upper 
margin  and  a  draw- 
ing string  of  rawhide 
passed  through  all 
of  these  slits,  begin- 
ning at  the  left  side 
of  the  heel,  passing 
across  to  the  right 
side,  then  around  the 
margin  through  the 
holes,  back  across 
the  heel  and  through 

the  left  side.  The  loose  ends  of  this  rawhide  form  the  string  which 
passes  around  the  instep,  where  it  is  tied  or  looped.  Length,  9£  inches. 
Collected  by  W.  E.  Curtis. 

Wiener  figures  the  following  foot  gear  from  Peru,  partly  industrial 
and  partly  ornamental  (pi.  10) : 

(1)  Cord,  metal  ring,  broidered  stuff,  about  the  ankles,  said  to  pre- 
vent cramps  and  accidents. 

(2)  Sole,  with  toe  strap,  joined  with  two  straps  passing  in  front  of 
instep  down  to  the  border  of  the  sole  in  front  of  the  heel. 

(3)  Toe  strap,  or  cord,  meeting  cord  passing  around  the  instep,  which 
is  looped  onto  a  heel  cord. 

(4)  From  the  border  below  the  instep  two  loops  extend,  one  about 
the  heel,  one  over  the  lower  instep. 

(5)  Sandal  of  braided,  in  Maguey  fiber,  coiled  like  a  chenille  mat. 

(6)  Eegular  sandals  and  slippers,  European  models. 


Fig.  70. 
RAWHIDE  SANDAL  WITH   PUCKERED  MARGIN,  h  ROM   PACHACAMAC.  PERU. 

Cat.  No.  127572,  U.  S.  X  M.     Collected  by  Willinni  E.  Curtis. 


1  Whymper,  "Great  Andes  of  the  Equator,"  New  York,  1892,  p.  39. 
'Wiener,  "Perou  et  Bolivie,"  Paris,  1880,  p.  679. 


EXPLANATION     OF     PLATE     10 


10 


FOOTWEAR  FROM  PERU. 

Fig.  1.  FRINGED  ANKLE  BAND,  Embroidered  material.     Ancon. 

Fig.  2.  LEATHER  SANDAL  FROM  ARICA,  PERU.  Single  toe  strap,  bifurcated  on  the 
back  of  the  foot  and  attached  to  the  margin  of  the  sole  half  way  back, 
as  in  Japanese  specimens. 

Fig.  3.  SANDAL  OF  LEATHER.  Found  at  the  foot  of  the  Cerro  de  la  Horca,  Para- 
monga.  Single  toe  string  passing  through  a  broad  loop  in  each  end  of 
the  heel  band  and  fixed  at  the  margin  of  the  sole  beneath  the  ankles. 

Fig.  4.  LEATHER  SANDAL  FROM  CHIMBOTE.  Single  toe  strap  bifurcated  on  the 
back  of  the  foot.  Attachments  not  shown.  Rosette  at  the  joining  of 
the  straps. 

Fig.  5.  LEATHER  SANDAL  FROM  SANTA.  Sole  held  on  by  two  loops  fastened  under 
the  instep,  one  passing  over  the  back  of  the  foot,  the  other  behind  the 
heel. 

Fig.  6.  SANDAL  FOUND  IN  THE  ARENAL  OF  PARAMONGA.  Single  toe  cord  bifur- 
cating an  inch  or  two  from  the  toes  and  passing  to  the  middle  of  the 
heel  loop  on  either  side.  The  extreme  variation  of  this  form  is  in  the 
Mediterranean  sandal,  in  which  a  band  clasps  the  lower  leg,  the  ankle 
strings  are  perpendicular,  and  the  toe  string  i«  carried  singly  across  the 
back  of  the  foot  to  the  leg  band. 

Fig.  7.  SANDAL  FOUND  IN  THE  NECROPOLIS  AT  GRAN-CHIMU.  The  especial  fea- 
tures are  the  absence  of  the  toe-string,  and  the  wrapping  about  the  ankles 
of  a  series  of  straps  attached  to  the  margin  of  the  sole  at  various  points. 

Fig.  8.  ORNAMENTAL  SANDAL  FOUND  AT  CHANCAY.  This  sandal  is  of  little  use 
in  travel,  but  is  of  the  same  general  style  as  that  shown  in  fig.  7. 

Fig.  9-12.  SANDALS  FROM  CAJAMARCA,CA.TABAMBA.  AND  VIRACOCHAPAMPA.  These 
specimens  all  have  slashed  tops. 


Report  ol  National  Museum,  1894.— Mason. 


PLATE  10. 


FOOTWEAR  FROM  PERU. 

From  Wiener,  "  1'erou  et  Bolivie. ' 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


369 


Fig.  71. 

MODERN  LEATHKK  SANDAL  FROM  BOLIVIA. 
Collection  of  Mr-.  Knnm-  B.  Wur.l. 


In  Mrs.  Ward's  collection  from  Bolivia  is  ;i  sandal  (tigs.  71  and  72) 
worthy  of  close  study.  The  leather  sole  is  double,  and  sewed  or  "run" 
together  by  means  of  leather  thongs  after  the  most  approved  Moham. 
medan  style  everywhere  seen  south  and  east  of  the  Mediterranean.  The 
toe  strap  is  separate, 
passing  up  through 
the  sole,  keyed  or  tog- 
gled under  the  bottom 
and  slit  at  the  upper 
end  for  the  passage  of 
the  thong.  A  "quar- 
ter "or  arch  strap  just 
beneath  the  ankles, 
gashed  at  each  end, 
passes  down  through 
the  sole  at  one  margin 
and  rises  through  the 
other  side.  The  lac- 
ing of  hide  slit  at  one  end  at  the  toes  passes  back  to  the  quarter 
strap,  where  it  takes  a  half  hitch  about  and  through  the  slit.  The 
lacing  thence  passes  about  the  heel  to  the  quarter  strap  on  the  other 
side,  where  it  is  fastened  by  another  half  hitch  and  thence  is  continued 
through  the  slit  in  the  toe  strap  and  is  fastened  off  in  the  slit  at  the 
beginning. 

Baudelier  sent  to  the  American  Museum,  New  York,  four  sandals 
from  Arica,  Peru,  having  rawhide  soles  slashed  similarly  and  provided 

with  looped  short 
straps,  gashed  at  the 
four  ends  for  receiv- 
ing the  lacing. 

In  Mrs.  Ward's 
collection  there  may 
be  seen  another 
type  of  sandal  from 
Bolivia  (fig.  73)  in 
which  there  is  no 
strap  between  the 
first  and  the  second 
toe.  On  the  other  hand,  the  quarter  or  heel  strap  is  repeated  under- 
neath the  ball  of  the  foot,  and  its  gashed  ends  come  up  over  the  toes 
as  does  a  skate  strap.  The  lashing  is  practically  the  same  as  in  the 
last  example. 

The  Patagonians  (Tehuelche  stock)  wear  potro  boots  made  of  the  skin 
stripped  from  the  knee  and  hock  of  a  horse  or  large  puma  not  unlike 
the  bottes  sauvages  of  Canada  mentioned  on  page  &45;  over  these  they 
H.  Mis.  00,  pt.  2 24 


Fig.  72. 

BOTTOM  OF  BOLIVIAN  SANDAL,  SHOWING  ATTACHMKN  I  *. 

Collection  of  Mr«.  Fannie  B.  \V»r,l 


370 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


sometimes  wear  overshoes  made  of  the  skin  from  the  hock  of  the 
guanaco.  The  footmarks  made  by  them  when  thus  shod  would  be 
abnormally  large,  which  gave  rise  to  the  name  Patagou,  or  big  foot. 

Example  No.  55800 
is  a  pair  of  man's 
shoes  from  Portugal. 
Uppers  and  soles  are 
in  one  piece  finished 
at  the  top  with  a 
softer  leather;  the 
upper  border  in  front 
is  puckered.  The  top 
is  sewed  together  at 
theheel  in  a  T-shaped 
seam,  but  the  extra 
piece  of  leather  is 
turned  up  inside. 
This  shoe  must  be 
compared  with  the 
Eskimo  shoes  for  the 
puckering,  and  with 
those  of  the  interior 
Indians  for  the  man- 
ner of  joining  the 
edges  at  the  heel. 
The  same  style  of  foot 
wear  made  of  very 
similar  material,  namely,  thick  uncolored  hide,  is  in  general  use  among 
the  Canadian  and  New  England  lumbermen.  The  history  of  Portu- 
guese foot  clothing  is  not  well  enough  known  to  enable  the  student  to 
decide  whether  this 
style  was  adopted 
from  the  American 
moccasin.  The  road 
would  be  a  round 
about  one,  since  the 
Portuguese  in  Amer- 
ica were  very  far 
away  from  the  north- 
ern moccasin  made 
all  in  one  piece. 

Example  No.  1280<>9 
(fig.  74)  is  a  wooden 
shoe  from  Minnesota  (called  sabot).  It  is  made  from  poplar  wood  and  is 
atypical  example  of  the  wooden  shoe  of  northern  and  western  Europe, 
especially  in  the  Netherlands  and  Scandinavian  countries.  This  example 


Fig.  73. 

BOLIVIAN   LEATHER  SANDAL,  WITHOUT  TOE-STRAP. 
Collection  of  Mrs.  Fannie  B.  Ward. 


Fig.  74. 
SABOT   OR   WOODKN   SHOE,  FROM   MINNESOTA. 

«':it.  N.,.  128(169,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  liy  Reuben  Wrmht. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


371 


was  made  and  worn  in  Minnesota  by  a  Dane.  Excellent  wood  for  these 
shoes  is  found  throughout  the  Mississippi  Valley  from  the  Gulf  north- 
ward, and  factories  have  been  established  for  their  manufacture,  whence 
they  are  shipped  to  supply  the  European  market.  Length,  13  inches. 
Collected  by  Eeubeu  Wright.  The  sabot  in  modern  Europe  has  two  or 
three  motives  of  geographic  expansion.  In  the  Netherlands  it  lifts  the 
foot  above  the  wet  ground.  It  is  found  in  the  countries  where  extremely 
light  wood  abounds.  It  is  durable,  and  above  all,  in  modern  econom- 
ics it  is  cheap,  a  man  being  able  to  shoe  his  whole  family  a  year  for 
what  it  costs  for  a  single  pair  of  leather  foot  wear  in  one  of  our  cosmo- 
politan cities.  The  antiquity  of  the  sabot  is  difficult  to  trace. 

SANDALS.  SHOES,  AND  BOOTS  IN  THK  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

75051 

Sandals,  clogs  with  toe  bands  .  ... 

England                

75052,  75053 

Shoes,  wooden  

do  :  

Bo. 

126956 

Clogs,  shoes  for  laborers  

do    

Do. 

126957 

Shoes  1  

do  

Do. 

126958 

..    do  

Do. 

150876 

Wooden  clogs  

do    

Edward  Lovett. 

175473 

Do 

76381 
13144 

Shoes,  lauparsk  o  

Norway  

Otis  Bigelow. 

76635 
128069 

Shoes,  wooden,  Swedish  (fig.  74)  ... 

Michigan  

R.  E.  Earll. 
Reuben  Wright 

75055 

do  

7505»>~75059 

Shoes  

do  

76491 

Shoes,  carved,  wooden  

..  .do  

Max  Potachak. 

76492,  76493 

do      

do       

Do. 

12M17 

Holland 

Mrs  E.  S  BrintoTi 

151282 

W.  W.  Rockhill. 

55859,  55860 

55857 

Leather  leggings  

do  

Do. 

73124 

Spain 

Do. 

167007 
167008 

Child's  sandals  
Man  's  sandals  

Madrid,  Spain  
do  

Walter  Hough. 
Do. 

129414 

Child's  rag  shoes  

Mrs.  E.  S.  Brinton. 

129418 

Slippers  

Germany  and  Italy  

Do. 

129416 

Red  shoes  Turkish  pattern  .     .   .. 

Do. 

129415 

Do. 

168(509-168611 
126937 

Shoes,  thick  soled  
Slippers,  felt  and  fur  lined  

Bulgaria  
Russia  

Sophia  Museum. 
State  Department. 

126940 

.    do  

Do. 

126941 

Men's  felt  boots     

do  

Do. 

126942 

.  .  <|o  

Do. 

126944 

Child's  cloth  shoes        

do  

Do. 

126945 

..  do    

Do. 

43073 

Sandals  Afghan  type  (p  318) 

Hon.  J  H  Snivth 

168052 
168876 

Stilted  clogs,  toe  string  

Mandingo,  Africa  

J.  F.  Cook. 

174689 

Boots,  red  legs          .                

Kongo,  Africa  

Dorsev  Mohnn. 

174767 

Wooden  sandals  with  toe  pegs  .  .  .  . 

do  

Do. 

151741 

SliDDers.  Portairuese  .  . 

Angola.  Africa... 

Heli  Chan-lam. 

372  REPORT    OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

SANDALS,  SHOES,  AND  BOOTS  IN  THE  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM — Continued. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

175213,  175214 

Sandals,  types  with  toe  strings  

Somali,  Africa  .   .       .   . 

76383 

72716 

Shoes,  colored  leather  (p.  317)  .... 

Morocco  

5500 

Yellow  embroidered  morocco  slip- 

  do  

de,  Leipzig. 

129412 

pers. 

129413 

Slippers,  slipshod  

do  

Do. 

76409 

Wooden  clogs  with  toeband  ....  

Tripoli  

5499 
76385 
74636 

Sandals,  type  (p.  521)  
Lady's  outer  shoes  

Arabia  
Cairo,  Egypt  

J.  Varden. 
Otis  Bigelow. 
Dr.  G.  W  Samson 

76973,  76974 

Red  leather  shoes,  embroidered  

do  

State  Department 

76382 

Shoes,  red  morocco  

Syria  .  . 

Otis  Bigelow 

76470 

Boots  

do 

76471 

Half  boots,  children  

do  

Do. 

76472 

Half  boots,  yellow  leather  

do  

Do. 

79473 

Shoes,  worn  over  76472  

do  

Do. 

129411 

Slippers.  Damascus  

do  

Mrs.  E.  S.  Brinton. 

926 

Outer  shoes,  types  

Turkey  

Charles  Laszlo. 

927 

Shoes,  types  

do  

Do. 

5498 

Slippers,  types  

do 

J.  "Varden. 

5502 

do  

do  

Do. 

76384 

Slippers,  yellow  morocco  

do  

Otis  Bigelow. 

4830-4832 

Man's  Turkish  slippers    . 

Isaac  Y.  Westervelt 

130614 

Mud  sandals,  Chirrok  

Kerkook,  Kurdistan 

Rev.  A.  H.  Audrus. 

130605 

Shoes  with  nails,  Koords  

Eastern  Turkey  .  . 

Do. 

130835 

Sandals,  over  toe  string  (fig.  41)    . 

Daniel  Phillips. 

164944 

Chapb'es  (p.  325)  

W.  L.  Abbott. 

164978 

Shoes  (p  326)     

Do. 

175117 

Woman's  boots  

Eastern  Turkestan.  .  .  . 

Do. 

175118 

Boots  Chirrocks  (p.  325)  

.do  

Do. 

175119 

do 

Do. 

175104 

Woman's  boots,  Pabboos  (p.  325)  .  . 

Leh,  Ladakh  

,     Do. 

175105 

Child's  boots,  Pabboos  (p.  325)  

do  

Do. 

153044 

Shoes  

Persia  

Pinkes  Hanuka. 

150877,  150878 

do  

do  

Ed.  Lovett. 

126834 

Slippers,  types  

India  

W.  H.  Daii. 

93150 
16693 

Wooden  sandals  with  toe  peg  

Calcutta  
Burma  

Do. 
Burma  Mission. 

16696 

Leather  sandals  (p.  326)  

do  

Do. 

76465  76467 

State  Department 

153347 

Sandals  (p.  325)  

do  

R.  Wildman. 

108760 

Ceylon  

Commission  of  Ceylon. 

154158 

R.  Wildman. 

168223 

World's  Columbian  Ex- 

130640 

Sandals  (p.  315)  

Borneo  

position. 
Royal     Gardens.     Kew, 

130639 

New  Zealand     

England. 
Do. 

3919 

China          

Lieut.  Wilkes,  TT.  S.  N. 

4800 

Shoes                      

do    

4826 

...do  ... 

...do.. 

U.  S.  X. 
Dr.  G.  J.  McGowau. 

PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


373 


SANDALS,  SHOES,  AND  MOOTS  IN  THE  I',  s.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM — Continued. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

5497 

Shoes          

China  

15674 

do  

do  

Chinese  Centennial  Com- 

34764 

Shoes  small  

do  

mission. 

55827 

Amoy  China  

48*7 

Canton                   ... 

mission. 
(!   \v   Robinson 

55847  55848 

A  Mm  ,   China  

55849 

Straw  shoes,  men's  

do  

mission  . 
Do. 

55828 

Cheefoo,  China  

G.  W.  Bobinson 

55399 

do  

Do 

55830  55831 

Felt  shoes  men's  

do  

Do. 

55833 

do  

Do. 

55835 

Cotton  cloth  boots  

do  

Do. 

55836 

do  

Do. 

55837 

Sinn  t  ii  m;  Province  

Do. 

55838 

Riaug  Su,  China  

Do. 

55839 

Straw  shoes,  woman's  

....do  

Do. 

55841 

Shanghai,  China  

Do. 

55842 

Sandals,  men's  

do  

Do. 

55843 

Shantung,  China  

Do. 

55844 

Wooden  shoes,  boy's  

do  

Do. 

55845 

China  

Do. 

55846 

do         

Do. 

55850 

Shanghai,  China  

Do. 

55851 

do     

Do 

55852 

.  do  

Do. 

55854 

boots,  man's. 

.  do  

Do. 

55855 

Leather  boots  half  

do  

Do. 

55856 

do    

Do. 

55863 

China  

Do. 

5.-  864 

do     

Do. 

55865  S5866 

do                  

Do 

76476 

do    

State  Department. 

131044 

\\"   \V  Rock  hill 

131198 

Sandals  sennit  (p  328) 

do     

Do 

151  981 

Shoes 

China              

Do 

151383 

do  

do  

Mrs.  E.  J.  Stone. 

131045 

Boots  (pi  2)      

Tibet  

W.W.  Rockhill. 

131085 

Boots,  felt 

do          

Do. 

167179 

Lama  boot  (p.  326)          

do  

Do. 

167181 

do  

Do. 

167303 

do  

Do. 

55832 

Manchuria  China   

Do. 

55840 

.  .do  

Do. 

131072 
77011 

Hoots  and  garters  (fig.  42)  
Shoes  grass     

Mongolia  
Seoul,  Korea  

Do. 
Ensign  J.  B.  Bernadon. 

77012  77013 

.  do  

Do. 

77014 

do  

Do. 

77015 

..  do  

Do. 

77016 

Blue  felt  shoes  

do  

Do. 

77081 

Child's  shova..  . 

...do. 

Do. 

374  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

SANDALS,  SHOES,  AND  BOOTS  IN  THK  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM — Continued. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

151146 

Child  's  sandals  (p.  329)  

Korea  

W.  W.  Rockhill. 

167706 

do  

H.  B.  Hurlbert. 

167707 

do  

Do. 

167708 

do  

Do. 

167709 

do  

Do. 

167710 

Clogs,  child's  

do  

Do. 

73107 

73986 

do  

Col.  Alex.  Johnston. 

116211 

do    

Bureau  of  Ethnology 

128161  128173 

Tokio  and  Yokohama. 

150487 

Rornyn  Hitchcock. 

150637 

.  do 

Do. 

150644 
5797 

(p.  333). 
Sandals  (p.  333)  
G-aiters...-  

Yezo,  Japan  

Do. 
Perry  expedition 

22192 
73082 

Sandals  (fig.  36)  .  

Ainos,  Japan  

Benjamin  S.  Lyman. 
P.L.  Jouy 

73084,  73085 

Sandals    

Do. 

73091 

Boots  straw  (fig.  44)       

Do. 

73092 

Straw  boots,  hunter's  

..  do  

Do. 

167961 

Moccasins,  woman's,  birch    bark 

Finland  

Hon.  J.  M.  Crawford. 

167968  167969 

(figs.  45,  47). 

do 

Do. 

167970 

Shoes,  child's  

do    

Do. 

167976 

Slippers,  woman's  

do                      

Do. 

73026 

Leonhard  Stejneger. 

153524 

Boots  

Siberia    

Lieut.    G.    B.     Harber, 

2438 

Chukchi 

U.  S.  N. 

2440,  2441 

Water-proof  boots  

..do      

Do. 

73025 

Dressed-skin  boots,  soles  of  sea- 

Leonhard  Stejneger. 

44686 
49167 

lion  flippers. 
Summer  boots,  many  insertions  

Cape  Nome,  Alaska  

E.  W.  Nelson. 
Do 

44347 

Toy  sealskin  boots     

Do. 

43344 

Boottees,  waterproof      .   . 

Do. 

43345 

Boots,  sealskin  (p.  340)  

do  

Do. 

7581 

Boots,  deerskin,  winter  

TJnalakleet  Alaska   .... 

W.  H.  Dall. 

17591 
36194 

Boottees,  sealskin  (pi.  4)  
Boots,  dressed  sealskin  

Norton  Bay  
do  

Do. 
E.  W.  Nelson. 

38771 

Boots,  waterproof  (p.  341)  

.do  

Do. 

49063 

"VT  «m'«  funny  hr>nt.s                              ,    T 

do          

Do. 

76338 

Fishskin  boots  

Do. 

7583 

W  H.  Dall 

38703 

Grass  shoes  

do     

E.  W.  Nelson. 

129344 

Shoes,  high,  elegant  

do     

L.  M.  Turner. 

129821 

Woman's  boots  

do  

General  Hazen. 

129822 

do 

Do. 

38697  38699 

Fort  Yukon,  Alaska  .  

E.  W.  Nelson. 

38700 

Shoes  toy    

..do    

Do. 

38370 

Boots,  flshskin  

Lower  Yukon,  Alaska  .  . 

Do. 

153737 

J  H.  Turner. 

8784 

Straw  shoes,  Eskimo  

Premorska    

W.  H.  Dall. 

38794 

Boots,  flshskin     

Anvik,  Alaska  

E.  W.  Nelsoi 

43903-43906 

...do.. 

Do. 

PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


375 


SANDALS,  SHOKS,  AND  BOOTS  IN  THE  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSKUM — Continued. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

481  :tO,  48131 
.'.."•'.14,  5595 

Moots,  tislmkin  
Boots,  child's  

Anvik,  Alaska  
Yukon  Kivcr    Uask.i 

K.  \V.  Nelson. 
W  H  Dall 

5591 

Boots,  salmon  skin      

do 

Do 

[MM 

Boots,  sealskin  Ipl.  4  '           

do 

J  T  Dyar 

10487 

do      

do  

Do 

11440 

..       do 

\V    ]{  Dai| 

36200 

Shoes,  rli  i  Id  s,  liin      

Alaska     

E.  W.  Nelson 

15.'!735 

Boots  waterproof         

Y  iikon,  A  laska           .  . 

•I    11   Turner 

I5I7M 

Mouis  half 

do 

Do 

16339 

Kuskuk  wim    Alaska 

E.  W.  Nelson 

7954 

Moots,  reindeer  skin  
Moots,  winter,  deerskin  

Nii.sliaiia;:.  Alaska  
do  

I>r.T.T.  Miner. 
E.  W.  Nelson 

4T'*li  43281 

Do. 

20921 

Boots,  winter,  decorated      

Aleutian  Islands  

.1.  (1.  Swan. 

48102 

Moots,  waterproof  

t'nulaska.   Uaska.. 

E.  W.  Nelson 

168295 

\ttn   Alaska 

127332 

Togiaknmiit,  Abtska  .  .  . 

J.  Applegato 

90400 

William  J  Fisher 

55971 

Boots,  waterproof,  fishskin    . 

Bristol  Bav,  Alaska  

Charles  L.  McKay. 

56061 

...     do  

Do 

72503  72504 

Moccasins,  women's  

Kenai  Indians  

William  J.  Fisher. 

49104 

Boots,  deerskin 

Kotzebue  Sound     

E.  W  Nelson 

129061  129662 

Boots,  sealskin  bottoms     

do  

Lieut.  G.  M.  Stoney. 

127950 

Boots 

Putnam  River,  Alaska 

Do 

50749,  50750 

I'm  its.  men's  (figs.  49,  52) 

Point  Barrow,  Alaska  .  . 

Lieut.  P.  H-.  Ray. 

74042 

do 

Do 

70182 

limits,  woman's  waterproof  (fig. 

do  

Do 

89834 

53). 
Moots,    skin     of    mountain    sheep 

do  

Do. 

128409 

(fig.  51)., 
Boots,  roan's  winter  

do  

E.  P.  Herendeen. 

153892 

Boots,  reindeer  (p.  338) 

do              

912  915 

do 

910 

do  

Do. 

1332 

Boots,  sealskin,  waterproof  (pi.  4)  . 

do  

C.  P.  Gaudet. 

1333 

Boots,  deerskin  

..do           ... 

Do. 

1669 

Moots,  fox  skin  

do  

Robert  MacFarlane. 

1683 

Boots,  deerskin  

do      

Do. 

1692 

do  

do  

Do. 

1718 

Boots,  sealskin  

do  

Do. 

2056 

Shoes,  child's    

do  

Do. 

.   .    do 

Do. 

2060 

Shoes,  man's  (pi.  4)  

do  

Do. 

2001 

Shoes,  child's 

do       

Do. 

2219 

Boots,  Eskimp           

....do  

Do. 

2220 

Boots,  without  tops  

do  

Do. 

2222  2223 

Shoes,  child  'tf  

...     do  

Do. 

do  

Do. 

.,.,.,- 

(  )  vershoes.  fur      

...   .do  

Do. 

3979 

Boots,  woman's  winter  (pi.  4)  

do  

Do. 

3980 

Boots,  man's  winter  (pi.  4,  fig.  6). 

do  

Do. 

.do    

Do. 

3982 

do  

Do. 

MM 

Boots,  man's  summer  (i>l.  4)  .. 

...do... 

Do. 

376  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

SANDALS,  SHOES.  AND  BOOTS  IN  THE  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM — Continued. 


Museum 
11  umber. 


3985 

7723-7725 

7648 

2053 

3977 

864 

865 

1717 

1720 

1721-1723 

127951 
10189 
10379 
68115 
68116 
68117 
68121 

68122-68124 

68142 

553,  554 

558, 559 

567 

13133-131381 

13152> 

^6966 

36967 

127137 

127138 

151668 

151665 

168921, 168922 


168933, 168934 
74487 

90062,  90063 

90066-90070 

90076-90081 

90189-90193 

90356, 90357 

90358-90365 

90366 

150890 

151667 

153507 

153516 

74435 

129354 

153865 

839 

840,841 

5651 

577 


Specimen. 


Soles,  man's  sealskin  boots 

I  '.out  s.  deerskin 

Bouts,  part  of  deerskin 

do...; 

Shoes,  child's 

Boots,  Eskimo 

Boots,  Eskimo 

Boots,  men's  deerskin  . 

Shoes,  child's 

Boots,,  men's  deerskin 
and  fox  skin. 

Boots,  man's 

Models  of  Eskimo  shoe 
Boots,  sealskin,  •waterproof 
Boots,  sealskin,  fur 

do 

Overshoes,  sealskin 
Boots,woman's,deer 
Boots,  waterproof.. 
Shoes,  child's,  waterproof. 

Boots 

Boots,  long,  double 
Boots,  man's 


Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

x>ts  

.    .     do 

Do 

do 

Do 

.     do 

Do 

do  

It.  Kennirott 

Mackenzie  River 

Do 

do  

Do 

do 

do  

Do. 

,  .sealskin, 

do  

Do. 

...    do 

Do 

s  
roof 

Repulse  Bay  
Hecla  Strait 

Capt.  C.  F.  Hall. 
Do 

Hudson  Bay   . 

do  ... 

Do 

do  

Do. 

a,fnrinside 

do  

Do. 

do  

Do. 

K)f.  

do  

Do. 

Upernavik,  Greenland 

Dr.  1.  1.  Hayes. 

...do  .. 

Do. 

.do 


Boots,  sealskin Greenland  , 


Do. 


.  Y.  ('onamagere. 


Boots,  fur  lined 

Shoes 

Boots,  long,  ornamented 

Slippers,  sealskin 

Boots  (four  pairs) 

Boots,  sealskin,  double 

Boots,  man's 


.do 


Boots,  woman's 

Gaiter  shoes Ungava,  Labrador 

Moccasins,  Tinn6  type do 

Shoes,  child's.  T-shaped  toes(p.348) do 

do do 

Shoes,  corrugated  soles do 

Shoes,  child's,  winter  (p.  343) do 

Boots,  type  set,  models  (p.  342) do 

Boota,  toy,  hair  inside do 

Shoes,  child's,  waterproof do 

Boots,  outside ....do 


Southeastern  Alaska. . . 


Moccasins 

Boots 

Moccasins,  Tlingit  Indian  . . . 

do Interior  Alaska 

Moccasins,  child's do 

Moccasins,  man's Fort  Good  Hope 

Shoes,  man's do 

Moccasins ' do 

Shoes,  por(MipiiiP<|uill  work Fort  Simpson,  Canada 


do Governor  Fenckner. 

do Do. 

South  Greenland Mrs.  Octave  Pavy. 

do Do. 

Greenland Dr.  C.  H.  Merriam. 

do Dr.  F.  M.  Hoadley. 

East  Greenland Royal  Museum  of  North- 
ern Antiquities, Copen- 
hagen,  Denmark. 

Do. 

L.  M.  Turner. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 

Miss  Anna  L.  Ward. 
Dr.  C.  H.  Merriam. 
Henry  G.  Bryant. 

Do. 

J.  J.  McLean. 
L.  M.  Turner. 
J.  H.  Turner. 
R.  Kennicott. 


.do 
.do 


Do. 

Do. 
B.  R.  Ross. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVKL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  377 

SANDALS,  SHOES,  AND  BOOTS  IN  THE  U.  8.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM— Continued. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locali  t  \ 

By  whom  contributed. 

678 

Shoes,  OTHun«ntf»'   ......... 

B  R  1; 

1336 

Moccasins  (p.  346)  

C    )>    tiuiiil.-t 

2221 

Moccasins,  child's  

do  

K.  MacFarlane 

7612 

Yukon  River 

W  H  Dall 

7613-7615 

Moccaaina  (p.  346)  

do 

Do 

166962-166905 

Mm  rasins  (p.  347)  

do 

J  H  Turner 

11390 

Southeast  Alaska 

20920 

Bootx,  I  nil  iun  

do... 

21580 

do  . 

I>r  .1    it  White 

2018  2043 

Moccasins   Chippewavan        

B  R  ROSA 

MM 

Moccasin*            

Fort  (i«>od  Hope  

R.  Kennicott 

131095 

Moccasins  bear's  feet  

Fort  St.  J  unieH  Canada 

674 

Geo  Gibbs 

30842 

Moccasins  low,  with  laprlx  

Cognowaga,  Canada  

Dr.  6  Brown  Goode 

76562-76565 

Canada 

151388 

M  occa-ins   <  hieidas  

New  York  

Mrs.  K.  J    Stout- 

74201 

North  Carolina  ...     . 

K    H   Cushing 

130478 

...    do 

153506 

30837 

Dr.  G  Brown  Goode 

30838 

..  do  

Scotia. 
...  .do  

Do. 

30839 

Moccasins  heavy  bead  work  

do  

Do 

30840  30841 

Moccasins,  bead  and  porcupine  w  ork 

do  

Do. 

8544 

Nebraska     

Medical  Museum  USA 

151934 

do                                  

do 

Capt  J  G  Bourke.  USA 

153052 

do  

Oklahoma    

Km  ilf  Granier 

165140 

do  

Wyoming  

Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

165786 

do            ...                

Indian  Territory    

H.  R.  Voth  collection 

165804-165811 

Moccasins,  Arapahoe  (p.  350)  

Do. 

6988 

E.  Palmer. 

8350 

do        

Medical  M  nsrnm.  I  ".S.  A  . 

130797 

do         

Mrs  J.  G.  Brutf 

165914 

Indian  Territory  

H.  R.  Voth  collection. 

165981  165982 

<lo             

Do 

165983  165984 

do  

Do. 

MWM 

.      do          

Do. 

n;vi.«r,  iti.'.ys'i 

do  

Do. 

]i;vi'M>  iir.'M" 

do  

Do. 

165093-165998 

do 

Do. 

166008 

...  .do  

Do. 

166009 

do                           

Do 

10110 

Fort  Randall  

AKst.Surg.  A.  J.  Comfort, 

151991 

do                

do  

r.s.  A. 

Capt  .  J  .G.Bourke,  U  .S.  A  . 

7090 

...  do  

Lieutenant    Id-Men 

1  65022-  16,r>026 

do                        

do  

U.S.  A. 
Bureau  of  Kthnology 

I.MMIU 

Leech  Lake,  Minn  

Dr.  W.  J.  Hoffman. 

MM) 

Kansas    :.... 

M'  tllr.il  Mum-inn,  1"  S.A. 

154354 

Montana  

I>r   \V   J   Hoffman 

154355 

do  

Do. 

30°60 

Missouri  

Dr  R  Mueller 

1897 

Moccasins.  Siou  x  .  .  . 

...do  ... 

I.  it-iii.  <i.  K.  Warren. 

378  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

SANDAI.S,  SHOES,  AND  BOOTS  IN  THB  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM— Continued. 


Museum 
number. 


1898-1901 

1902 

8364 

164820 

21670 

166688 

166689 

152855 

152926 

152967 

158968 

153507 

153568 

165238 

23740 

31037 

31038 

130799 

131353 

151387 

153569 

153991 

153992 

154356 

154363 

2107 

127619 

165024 

8348 

8362 

8505 

18143 

153993 

153994 

164819 

165145 

165146 

169042 

8535 

165023 

165025 

165239 

1466 

1471 

6983 

6984, 6985 
130798 
1528J6 
131261 
131262 
9995 


Specimen. 


Locality. 


By  whom  contributed. 


Moccasins,  Sioux Missouri Lieut.  J.  K.  "Warren. 

Moccasins,  child's,  Sioux i do j          Do. 

Moccasins,  Sioux Red  River Robert  E.  Williams. 

do Pine  Kidge  Agency Mrs.  E.  C.  Sickels. 

do '< Dr. J.F.Boughter, U.S.A. 


do Arizona 

Moccasins,  child's,  Sioux do 

Moccasins,  Kiowa  (p.  350) Indian  Territory 

Moccasins,  toy.  Kiowa do 

Moccasins,  Kiowa. do 

Moccasins, boys,  Kiowa do 

Moccasins,  child's,  Kiowa do 

Moccasins,  man's,  Kiowa do 

Moccasins,  man's,  Kiowa,  type 

Moccasins,  Sioux 

Moccasins,  beaded,  Dakota 

Moccasins,  child's,  Sioux 

Moccasins,  Sioux 

....do 

Moccasins,  child's,  Dakota 

Moccasins,  men's,  Sioux 

....do 

Shoes,  Sioux 

Moccasins,  beaded,  boy's Montana 

Moccasins  and  leggings,  child  s  . ..    Crow  Agency 

Moccasins,  Omaha  Indians Omaha Rev.  Wm.  Hamilton. 

do Nebraska Mrs.  J.  ().  Dorsey. 

Moccasins,  Assiuiboine  Indians . Lieut.  Cook,  U.  S.  A. 

Moccasins,  Sioux Medical  Museum, U.S.  A. 

Moccasins,  Dakota .' Do. 


James  Mooney. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 
Capt.  R.  H.  Pratt, I". S.  A 

Do. 

....do James  Mooney. 

Devils  Lake,  Dakota Paul  Beckwith 

War  Department . 

Do. 

Mrs.  J.G.  Bruff. 

Mrs.  A.  C.  Jackson. 

Mrs.  E.  J.  Stone. 

Capt.  R.  H .  Pratt, U.S.A. 

Mrs.  M.  M.'  Hazen. 


Do. 

Dr.  W.  J.  Hoffman. 
Do. 


Dakota 


Do. 
Dr.  E.  Coues. 


Moccasins,  Sioux 

Moccasins 

Moccasins,  child's,  Sioux Mrs.  M.  M.  Hazen. 

Moccasins,  unfinished,  Sioux Do. 

Moccasins,  Sioux (  Miss  E.  C.  Sickles. 

. . .  .do '. South  Dakota |  James  Mooney. 

do i do Do. 


Moccasins,  boy's 

Moccasins,  Sioux  (p.  350) 

Moccasins,  Br u!6 

do 

Moccasins,  Kiowa 

Moccasins 

Moccasins,  (,'oiiianche 

Moccasins  and  leggings,  Comauche . 

Moccasins,  Comanche 

do 

do 

Moccasins 

Moccasiiw,  child's 

Moccasin*.  Pawnee 

Moccasins,  Caddo  (p.  351) 

Moccasins,  "Wichita 


76785,  76786     Moccasins,  Chetemacha,  type 


do Dr.  Z.  T.  Daniels. 

Nebraska |  Medical  Museum.U.S. A. 

Dakota j  Lieut.  Cook,  U.  S.  A. 


do 

Indian  Territory 

Texas  and  Mexico 

....do 

do 

do 

New  Mexico 

Indian  Territory 

Texas  

....do 

Nebraska . . . 


Louisiana. 


Do. 

James  Mooney. 
Lieut.  Couch,  U.  S.  N. 

Do. 
K.  Palmer. 

Do. 

Mrs.  J.G.  Bruff. 
James  Mooney. 
Minor  Kellogg. 

Do 

L.  W.  1'latt. 
E.  Pain,,  i 

Do. 
C.  E.  Whitney. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


379 


SANDAI.-.  SIIOKS.  ANM>  B»nrr>   IN    1111     IT.  8.  \\II»NAI.  MrsKi'M— Continued. 


M  ii  -fii  in 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

56748 
7955 
11386 

Woman's  pantaloons,  hurkskin 
Boot*,  reindeer  skin  

Kfluui  Indian-  
Chilcat    Alaska    
Wrangell  AhiHka 

Win.  J.  Fish«-r. 
Dr.T.  T.  Minor. 

20815-20817 

Moccasins,  Stikine  Indian*  

•  1" 

.1    (r   Swan 

20795  20796 

sitka  Alaska       .   . 

Do 

20797 

McM-rasins  (p  351)    

do 

Do 

mi 

tin 

America. 
do  

v      . 
Do 

'.MI.'I'.I 

Kurl  Colvillt-    Wash 

673 

l!407:i-'J4078 
.40711  "insii 

Moccasins.  Chinook  (p.  352)  
Moccasins.  Klamatli  

C'olunihia  Hivt-r.    
Oregon  
do  

George  ClliliM. 
I,.  S.  Dyar. 
Do 

23855 

J    1'.  Monteith 

ItiTTL'ti  167727 

Moccasins   child's,  Bannock  

...   .do    

Kil.  Palmer 

131243 

,|,,                   

do        

151715 

do     

do  

I'rof.  '  .  II.  Hit.  h.-ci.-k 

165147 

M  i  M'I  :i  -i  n  -   Shoahone  

\V\  niniug  

22011 

Moccasins  

Northern  Wyoming  .... 

Maj.J.  W.  I'owell. 

22018 

do      

do  

Do. 

22020 

do                         

do             

Do, 

1197,  1198 

Moccasins  plain  

do  

Do, 

12tHi«  12(167 

Southern  Utah  

Do. 

12068  12069 

do 

Do 

14384-14391 

..   .  do  

Uo. 

17LM7.  17218 

Morcasins  

Utah  

Do. 

19831 

do      

do  

Do. 

19836 

do  

...  .do  

Do. 

19841 

do  

do  

DM. 

165148 

19628 

Moccasins,  child's  

Walker  Lake,  Colo  

S.  Powers. 

21347 

•J17J1 

Moccasins.  Iliipa  Indiana  

California  
...    do 

Do. 

21722.  '2  1  TIM 

.  ...  do  

do      

Do. 

10778 
10779 

Moccasins,  Ute  Indians  

Moccasins    liradi-d.  lie  Indians.. 

Colorado  
...    do  

Maj.J.  W.Powell. 
Do. 

10780 

Moccasins,  with  long  loggings  .... 

do  ;  

Do. 

10788,  10789 

Moccasins,  lite  Indians  

do  

Hi. 

11105,11196 

Moccasins,  Moki  

Arizona      .          

Do 

11193,11194 

Boots,  hide  solos  

do  

Do. 

45607 

Sandals    straw    

Silver  City,  N.  Mo\ 

Henry  11.  Husliy 

45609 

Sandals,  largo  (a  fragment)  (pi.  71)  . 

do  

Do. 

45610 

Sandals  child's  (pi.  7)  

do  

Do. 

20929 

Sandals  yucca  fiber  (p.  357) 

St.  George  Utah 

BH6 

Boots,  Apai  hr  

Arizona  

Do. 

BOM 

1  ii  ii  ii  -.  Ton  to  Apache'  

...do              

Dn 

7314 
11321 

Moccasins  and  leggings.  Apai  In- 
P>i  >ots,  long,  Apache  

do  

Maj.W.  H.  Mills. 
W   F   M   Arnv 

21533-215:15 
27824 

Moccasins,  with  legs,  A  pa.  -In-  
Moccasins,  girls'   Sh<ishoin-  

Ari/.ona  
"lali     

D...I.15.  Wh.lr.  1 
Mai  -I    W    Powell. 

115380-115388 

Moccasins,  Gosh  Utex 

...  do  

Do 

115383-115385 

Moccasins,  child's  

do  

Do 

151443 

M'"  i  .i-in-   iisrd  in  Miuiinui  i  linn  Ii 

...  do    

152569 

Moccasins.  U  ten  .  .  . 

Lewis  Knurl. 

380  REPORT   OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1894. 

SANDALS,  SHOES,  AND  BOOTS  IN  THE  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM — Continued. 


Museum 
number. 


Specimen. 


Locality. 


By  whom  contributed. 


73001     Shoes,  mescal  fiber,  La  Costa  In-     Lower  California )  H.  C.  andChas.R.Orcutt. 


19848 
19856 
19859 
19863 
19866 
1987J 
22001 
27820 
68657 
127702 
166619 
166638 
166789 

166791 
166793 
166805 
22818 
22830,  22831 
22903 
23156 
41723 
41828 
41829-41832 
68969 
68970-68974 
68976-68978 
84283 
166682 
166685 
166687 
11790,  11791 
128957 
1057 
9364 
174450 
166596 
166597 
166621 

17349 
76896 
130711 
17346 
21540 
21541,  21542 
24215 
24222 
8357 
9979 
17350 
47177 

mans. 
Moccasins  

Utah  . 

Maj.  J.  W.  Powell. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Bureau  of  Ethnology. 
James  Mooney. 
Do. 
Do. 

Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Maj.J.  W.Powell. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Col.  J.  S.  Stevenson. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
V.  Mindeleff. 
James  Mooney. 
Do. 
Do. 
Maj.  J.W.Powell. 
Mrs.  M.  E.  Stevenson. 
Col.  Pas  ton. 
E.  Palmer. 
W  J  McGee. 
James  Mooney. 
Do. 
Do. 

G.  M.  Wheeler. 
Mexican  Commission. 
Rev.  Father  Walter. 
G.  M.  Wheeler. 
Dr.  J.  B.  White,  U.  S.  A. 
Do. 
E.  Palmer. 
Do. 
MedicalMusenm.U.  S.A. 
E.  Palmer. 
G.  M.  Wheeler. 
Mai.  J.W.  Powell. 

.    do    

do 

do  

do  

..  ..do  

do  

do  

do  .  . 

do  

do 

Moccasins  and  leggings,  woman's  . 
Moccasins,  boy's,  Shoshone  
Overshoes,  basket,  Zuni  (p.  361)  
Moccasins,  Zuni  

Northern  Utah  

Utah  
New  Mexico  

...  .do  

Mn^AaJTm,  Hopi  TndittTlfl    ,  . 

Arizona  

do  

do 

Moccasins  and  leggings,  Hopi  In- 
dians. 
do  

do  

do      . 

Moccasin  straps,  Hopi  Indians.  .  .  . 

do  

Moccasins,  red  tops,  Hopi  Indians. 
Moccasins      

do  

Moccasins,  boy's,  Moki  

do  

Moccasins,  winter,  Moki  

do  

Moccasins,  Moki  

do  

Moccasins,  woman's,  Moki  

do  

Moccasins,  man's,  Moki  (fig.  65)  . 

do  

Moccasins,  child's,  Moki  

do  

do  

do  

do  

do  

do  

do 

Shoes,  child's,  Moki  

do  

Moccasins,  child's,  Moki  

..      do  

...    do  

do 

Moccasins,  child's,  Moki  

do    

Moccasins,  Oraibi  

Shoes,  woman's,  Oraibi  



Casa  Grande,  Gila  River  . 
Arizona  

Last  for  moccasins  
Sandals,  rawhide  (fig.  66) 

Moccasins  and  leggings,  Navajo.  .  . 
Moccasins,  driller's,  Navajo 

Arizona  
do  

Moccasins,  black,  silver  button, 
Navajo. 
Moccasins  

.  do  

New  Mexico  

Sandals,  plaited  

Pueblo 

Sandals,  hide,  Zufii  
do  

Arizona  

do             ..  .. 

Sandals,  willow  bark,  Mohave  
do  

Colorado  River  

do  

Moccasins  

do 

Moccasins,  child's  

do  

Shoe  .  .  . 

Santa  Doiuineo.  N.  Mex. 

PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  381 

SANDALS,  SHOES,  AND  BOOTS  IN  THE  17.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM — Continued. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

153169 

Soles  of  sandals. 

Rio  Grande  Mexico 

<  'a|it.J  G.Bourkp  U  S.A. 

'52732 

Sandals  (titf.  67) 

E  Palmer 

174484 

Sandals,  rawhide  

Sonora,  Mexico  .   . 

W  J  M  r(  ;•••• 

31039 

Moccasins,  Apache  

Vuina,  Ariz  . 

Ma.)  W  H.Bn>wn  USA 

152519 

do                   

Capt  J  G  Bourki'  1    v   \ 

153566 
8356 

Moccasins,  woman's.  Apache. 

Capt,  R.  H.  Pratt,  U.S.A. 

9549  9550 

Moccasins,  Navajo  Indians  (tigs. 

do  

16503 

63  and  64). 
do                                  

Gov  W  F  M     Vriiv 

17347  17348 

do             

New  Mexico  

Lieut.  G  M  Whreler 

128114 

Arizona  

A  M  Stephen 

166593 

Moccasins  and  loggings,  Navajo 

do  

73908  73909 

Indians. 

175185 

Venezuela  

32091 

Hun   K  K  Hart 

H2W2 

<!„                              

...    do  

Do. 

128397 

do  

"V.O.  King. 

127572 

Peru  (fig.  70)        

W.  K.  Curtis 

MM 

Brazil  

W.  W.  Carter. 

482S> 

Lima  

Do. 

SNOWSHOES  AND  DEVICES  FOR  TRAVELING  OVER  THE   SNOW  AFOOT. 

The  snowshoe  is  a  device  for  sustaining  the  body  of  one  traveling  on 
the  top  of  the  snow.  It  will  be  seen  at  a  glance  to  be  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  the  welfare  of  hyperborean  peoples  in  walking,  hunting,  pulling 
a  sled,  or  in  driving  a  team  attached  to  the  sled.  Every  Arctic  cul- 
ture area  has  its  own  use  for  this  article.  According  to  the  timber 
supply  and  the  life  to  be  led,  the  snowshoe  varies  from  place  to  place. 
In  association  with  its  kindred  implement,  the  sled,  the  snowshoe  was 
the  apparatus  for  most  rapid  land  transit  known  to  man  before  the  age 
of  steam. 

Snowshoes  are  of  two  kinds:  (1)  Those  of  wood,  the  skee  or  its 
equivalent;  (2)  the  netted  snowshoe.  The  wooden  snowshoe  varies 
from  people  to  people,  but  there  are,  in  a  general  sense,  but  two  kinds, 
the  skee  proper,  or  wooden  skate  (fig.  75),  useful  in  rapid  transit,  and 
the  compound  skee,  lined  beneath  with  pelt,  useful  in  draft  and  also  for 
uphill  work  (fig.  77). 

The  smooth  skee  is  to  be  seen  in  two  forms,  one  having  grooves  beneath 
acting  as  a  keel  or  keel  board,  the  other  being  perfectly  flat  and  smooth 
beneath. 

The  netted  snowshoe  grows  out  of  two  needs,  that  of  timber  suffi- 
ciently large  and  strong  from  which  to  make  them,  and  the  demand  for 
a  footgear  that  will  help  the  wearer  in  an  emergency  to  draw  a  heavy 
load.  There  is  a  great  variety  of  netted  snowshoes,  the  differences 


382 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


among  them  depending  partly  upon  the  form  and  quality  of  the  frame, 
and  partly  upon  the  material  the  kind  and  fineness  of  netting. 

(1)  The  simplest  form  of  frame  is  a  hoop  of 
wood,  made  from  a  scion  or  sapling,  trimmed 
very  little,  and  bent  into  a  form  more  or  less 
round,  without  crossbars.     Examples  of  this 
type  are  shown  in  pis.  17  and  21. 

In  the  Caucasus  and  in  the  Aino  country 
a  nearly  round  frame  is  made  by  telescoping 
one  half  hoop  into  another  and  binding 
the  ends  together.  In  the  Adirondacks  the 
wealthy  hunters  wear  a  very  pretty  and 
costly  kind  with  circular  frames. 

(2)  An  advance  upon  the  first  form  is  a 
hoop  or  ellipse,  with  two  opposite  points 
drawn  toward  each  other,  more  in  shape  of 
the  foot  or  like  an  hour  glass;  also  without 
crossbars.     This  form  has  a  restricted  area 
and  is  shown  in  fig.  76. 

(3)  A  third  type  does  not  differ  essentially 
from  No.  2,  except  that  the  outline  is  oval 
and  the  rear  part  occasionally  constricted, 
as  in  a  hand  glass.     The  oval  form  is  illus- 
trated by  an  example  in  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum  from  the  northwest  coast  of  Amer- 
ica, collected  long  ago  by  Captain  Wilkes. 
No.  2728,  fig.  92,  is  the  type  specimen. 

A  type  slightly  differing  from    No.  3  is 
from  CJugava,  eastern  Canada.     The  ellipse 
is  the  fundamental  form;  the  rear  is  con 
stricted  into  three  local  varieties,  described 
by  Turner,  to  wit,  the  beaver  tail,  the  swal 
low  tail,  and   the  round  end   forms.    The 
Ungava  specimens  are  neatly  made,  as  if 
by  machinery,  and  they  have  crossbars  and 
tine  webbing  of  thong  and  provision  for  the 
toes  inclosed  in  a  soft  shoe. 

(4)  This  type  has  a  frame  in  one  piece, 
but  the  front  end  is  bent  sharper  and  the 
rear  ends  lashed  together,  forming  a  trailer. 
All  of  this  looped  variety  in  the  National 
Museum  have  crossbars  set  in  after  the  man- 
ner to  be  described.    The  variations  in  this 
class  of  frames  are  in  the  turning  up  or  not 

of  the  front,  the  length  of  the  trailer,  and,  in  the  latest  voyageur  and 
Canadian  examples,  the  curve  of  the  front. 


Fig.  75. 

WOODEN    SNOWSHOES    USED    BY    THE 

OILIAKS  ON  THE  AMCR. 
From  a  figure  in  Schrenck's  "P 


r-I.nndp  ' 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  383 

(5)  The  Chukchi  and  the  natives  of  St.  Lawrence  Island  make  a 
frame  of  two  pieces  of  wood  bowed  and  lashed  together  at  tin*  ends  in 
lenticular  form.  Anciently,  all  Eskimos  wore  this  sort  of  snowshoe. 
These  specimens  are  necessarily  provided  with  crossbars.  Then-  is 
one  example  in  the  National  Museum  in  which  a  two-part  frame  is 
rounded  in  front  and  trailed  behind.  In  the  Iroquois and  Sioux  country, 
and  also  among  the  voyageurs,  the  two-part  frame  readies  its  perfection. 
being  neatly  made  and  gracefully  turned  up  in  front. 

In  order  to  give  room  for  all  questions  that  may  arise  in  separating 
snowshoes  into  their  species,  and  varieties  on  ethnical,  technical,  and 
geographical  grounds,  the  following  characteristics  must  be  examined: 

1.  Material. — Driftwood,  lumber,  sapling,  bone,  antler,  etc. 

2.  Outer  frame. — Number  of  parts,  relation  to  symmetry  and  the  man- 
ner in  which  they  are  bound  together. 

3.  Cross  section  of  the  frame. — Round,  squared,  pointed  oval,  etc. 

4.  Outline  and  shear. — Circular,  elliptical,  oval,  pointed  oval,  lentic- 
ular ;  also  flat,  warped,  turned  up,  etc. 

5.  Crossbars. — Number,  material,  form,  and  attachment.     . 

6.  Netting. — Rude  or  woven;  wrapped,  rove,  or  worked  on  a  border 
line;  of  thong,  babiche,  twine  of  sinew,  twine  of  babiche,  vegetable 
twine;  toe  netting,  heel  netting,  foot  netting. 

7.  Measurement*. 

The  netted  snowshoe  maybe  traced  into  the  United  States  quite  well 
to  the  southward  in  the  States  east  of  the  Plains;  but  it  practically  dis- 
appears from  the  horse  tribes  or  regions.  Old  frontiersmen  say  that  the 
horse  Indians  were  not  fond  of  snowshoes.  and  did  not  care  to  use 
them. 

The  snowshoe  line  southward  is  on  the  isotherm  of  northern  New 
York  in  winter.  There  was  an  abundance  of  raw  material  for  making 
them,  and  the  question  was  one  of  demand.  If  the  snow  was  too  soft 
to  sustain  the  wearer,  it  mattered  not  how  deep  it  lay,  that  only  made 
matters  worse.  There  was  also  a  northern  limit  of  good  snowshoes. 
It  lay  within  the  Arctic  Circle,  where  the  snow  became  hard  enough  HI 
the  long  winter  nights  to  sustain. the  hunter  without  them.  There,  it 
will  be  seen,  they  became  poorer  as  we  get  farther  north. 

Snowshoes  are  not  known  to  have  been  used  south  of  the  Klauiath 
River  in  California.  They  are  not  spoken  of  as  occurring  in  South 
America.  Here  and  there  further  south  netted  and  fur  overmoccasins 
occur. 

Nan  sen '  mentions  in  his  matchless  chapter  on  the  Skee  the  use  of 
mud  boards  on  the  feet  for  crossing  a  marsh,  and  contrasts  the  lifting  of 
them  in  stepping  with  the  gliding  of  the  Skee  and  the  peculiar  motion 
of  the  skater. 

The  Guaraon.  of  the  Orinoco,  run  with  extreme  address  on  muddy 
lauds,  where  the  European,  the  Negro,  or  other  Indians  except  them 


1  "First  Crossing  of  Greenland, "  London,  1890, 1,  p.  76- 


384  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

selves  would  not  dare  to  walk ;  and  it  is,  therefore,  commonly  believed 
that  they  are  of  lighter  weight  than  the  rest  of  the  natives.  The 
ease  with  which  they  walk  in  places  newly  dried  without  sinking  in, 
when  even  they  have  no  planks  tied  to  their  feet,  seemed  to  me  the 
effects  of  long  habit.1 

The  Norwegian  snowshoe,  skee  (called  she,  pi.  skier,  skilober,  snow- 
shoer;  skilobning,  snowshoeing),  is  a  strip  of  hard  wood  from  5  to  8 
feet  long,  4  or  more  inches  wide,  and  not  more  than  an  inch  thick,  on 
the  average.  Many  of  them  are  ornamented,  but  essentially  they  are 
pointed  and  turned  up  at  both  ends,  having  a  strap  back  of  the  middle 
for  the  foot.  On  the  underside  may  be  a  groove,  acting  like  a  keel  or 
centerboard.  The  skee  was  formerly  accompanied  with  the  staff,  useful 
especially  in  steering  or  guiding  the  traveler.  This  type  is  found  in 
Norway,  Sweden,  Finland,  Russia,  and  on  the  Amur.  In  Kamchatka 
the  sled  rests  on  skees.  The  Norwegian  truger  is  the  counterpart 
of  the  netted  snowshoe,  worn  by  men  and  horses  and  also  by  Alpine 
peasants.  It  is  made  of  an  oblong  osier  hoop,  12  to  16  inches  in 
length,  bound  to  the  foot  with  the  simplest  lashings.2 

Nansen  devotes  a  chapter  to  the  spread  of  the  skee  argued  on  philo- 
logical grounds.  The  origin  is  found  thereby  in  the  Altai  from  Baikal 
Lake  southwestward.  He  names  four  types : 

1.  Sok,  tok,  hokh,  from  Japan  Sea  to  Lapland. 

2.  Sana,  tana,  hana,  among  Buriats  and  northwest  Samoyeds. 

3.  Solta,  tolde,  among  Golde,  Tungus,  Ostyak  Samoyeds. 

4.  Lysha,  gola,  kalku,  etc.,  of  Aryan  parentage. 

In  northeastern  Siberia  outstanding  names  are  given. 

The  interesting  fact  is  also  stated  that  the  transition  from  the  fur- 
lined  to  the  smooth  skee  is  not  abrupt.  In  Osterdalen,  Norway,  the  one 
on  the  left  foot  is  long  and  smooth ;  the  other  short  and  lined  beneath 
with  skin.  With  this  may  be  compared  the  skater  on  one  foot. 3 

The  great  dexterity  shown  by  professionals  on  this  apparatus  and 
its  introduction  into  civilized  sport  must  not  be  noticed  here  except  to 
call  attention  again  to  the  universal  tendency  of  old  drudgeries  to 
become  by  and  by  pastimes  and  fine  arts.  Nor  does  the  skee  escape  the 
common  lot  of  apotheoses,  since  in  the  Norse  mythologies  heroes  are 
made  to  travel  on  this  wise ;  and  it  is  the  boast  of  a  northern  chieftain 
that  he  could  traverse  the  snow  upon  skates  of  wood.4 

In  1865  Henry  Elliott  and  the  Intercontinental  Telegraph  party 
traveled  25  miles  in  two  hours  across  Stuart's  Lake,  Canada,  on 
skates  made  from  cedar  boughs,  using  blankets  for  sails. 


1  Humboldt's  Travels.  London,  1852,  Bohn.,  I,  p.  332. 

*F.  Nanseu,  "  First  Crossing  of  Greenland,"  London,  1890,  Longmans,  I,  pp.  3, 10,  39, 
with  figure;  also  Illustrated  London  News,  1895,  106,  p.  172. 

5 "First Crossing  Greenland, "London,  1890,  i,  Chap. in,  pp. 73-114,  with  figures  and 
map. 

4Olai.  Worm.  Lit.  Run.,  p.  129,  cited  by  Strutt,  "  Sports  and  Pastimes  of  the  Peo- 
ple of  England,"  p.  153. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  385 

Bone  skates  from  Iceland  are  figured  in  "The  Reliquary,"1  made  from 
the  radius,  metatarsal,  inetacarpal  bones  of  the  ox  or  horse,  shaved  off 
to  fit  the  foot  on  one  side  and  trimmed  at  the  ends  on  the  lower  side. 
Holes  are  pierced  through  the  ends  and  a  cord  is  looped  through  the 
front  hole  by  its  middle.  The  two  ends  cross  on  the  instep,  pass  down 
to  the  hole  through  the  heel,  where  they  cross  and  are  brought  up  to 
the  ankle  and  fastened  around  the  limb.  The  bone  skate  is  only  a  kind 
of  skee.  The  forward  motion  is  obtained  by  means  of  a  rod  shod  with 
iron  or  by  sailing  before  the  wind. 

A  Scandinavian,  far  from  home,  at  Meadow  Lake,  Nevada  County, 
Cal.,  has  reproduced  the  skee  with  a  longitudinal  groove  underneath 
from  end  to  end,  and  has  sent  an  example  to  the  Museum  of  Natural 
History,  in  New  York. 

Rasmus  B.  Anderson  speaks  of  the .  Laplander  making  snowshoes, 
and  also  as  being  expert  in  the  use  of  the  skee,  or  long  wooden  snow- 
shoe.2 

The  kinship  of  the  skee  to  the  sledge,  shown  in  the  traveling  appara- 
tus of  Kamchatka  and  the  Canadian  toboggan,  is  also  illustrated  by 
Conan  Doyle  in  a  pleasure  trip  over  the  Alps:  "The  guides  undid 
their  skier,  lashed  their  straps  together,  and  turned  them  into  a  rather 
clumsy  toboggan.  Sitting  on  these,  with  our  heels  dug  into  the  snow 
and  our  sticks  pressed  down  hard  behind  us,  we  began  to  move  down 
the  precipitous  face  of  the  pass."3 

Hendrick  Hamel  says  that  the  cold  was  so  intense  in  Korea  in  1662, 
and  there  fell  such  a  quantity  of  snow,  that  the  people  made  ways  under 
it  to  pass  from  house  to  house;  and  to  go  on  it  they  wore  small  boards 
like  battledores  under  the  feet.4 

Batchelder  must  be  thinking  of  still  another  style  used  by  these 
northern  aborigines  of  Japan.  He  says  the  snowshoes  of  the  Aino  are 
of  wood;  each  consists  of  a  single  piece  neatly  covered  with  sealskin. 
They  are  5  feet  7  inches  long,  7£  inches  in  breadth,  and  fastened  to  the 
feet  by  means  of  a  rawhide  thong.5  They  are  almost  identical  with 
those  of  the  Amur. 

Whales  abound  in  the  Channel  of  Manchuria,  but  are  only  got  by  the 
natives  of  Saghalin  when  washed  ashore.  They  sell  the  oil  to  the  Jap 
anese,  and  make  use  of  the  whalebone  for  their  sledges,  bows,  and  snow- 

'.!.  Romilly  Allen,  The  Reliquary,  London,  1896,  n,  pp.  33-38,  quoting  Leland's 
Itinerary.  London,  1772,  vin,  p.  45 ;  Strutt,  "Sports  and  Pastimes  of  the  People  of 
England,"  and  C.  Roach  Smith,  Archseologia,  xxix,  ]>.  397.  See  also  R.  Mnnro,  Proc. 
Soc.  Antiquaries  of  Scotland,  xxvn,  p.  185. 

-Senate  Ex.  Doc.  73,  53d  Cong.,  2d  sess.,  p.  148.  See  illustration  in  Frank  Leslie's 
Monthly.  Feb.  2, 1894. 

Mi  ('lure's  Magazine,  New  York,  1895,  iv,  p.  352. 

4 Quoted  l>y  W.  E.  Griffis  in  "Korea,  Without  ami  Within,"  Philadelphia,  1885, 
p.  114. 

5Batchelder.  "Ainu  of  Japan,"  Chicago,  1893,  p.  187,  with  figure.     L'f.  sdm-nrk. 
H.  Mis.  90,  pt.  i» !'.-• 


386  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

shoes.1    All  the  Japauese  snowshoes  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum 
are  of  the  hooped  variety. 

Examples  Nos.  22195  and  2219G  are  snowshoes  sent  from  Yokohama, 
Japan,  by  the  Hon.  Benjamin  Lyman.  The  frames  are  hoops  of  wood 
drawn  together  in  the  shape  of  a  long  oval  constricted  in  the  middle. 
The  lashing  under  the  foot  is  made  of  rawhide  thongs.  Length,  18J 
inches;  greatest  width,  ID  inches.  Worn  by  the  Aino,  of  northern 
Japan.  One  of  these  specimens  is  shown  in  fig.  76.  In  the  collection 
of  Romyn  Hitchcock,  No.  150643,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  is  a  pair 
of  Aino  snowshoes  made  of  wood  and  lashed  with  thong  of  bear- 
skin. The  general  shape  is  an  oblong  oval.  The  frame  consists  of  two 

bent  sticks,  rounded  at  the  bends 
and  squared  along  the  limbs. 
The  one  forming  the  heel  portion 
"telescopes"  into  the  other,  and 
the  two  are  lashed  together  by 
the  webbing  of  bearskin.  This 
is  all  of  one  piece,  and  passes 
around  the  two  side  sticks  by  a 
double  loop,  as  in  many  Ameri- 
Fig.76.  can  specimens.  The  knot  is  the 


SNOWSHOE  FROM  YOKOHAMA,  JAPAN.  same     Commencing  at  one  mar- 

cat  No.  22196,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Hon.  Benjamin  S.  Lyman. 

gin  near  the  toe  the  loop  is  made. 

The  thong  passes  diagonally  across  and  makes  another  loop,  then  across 
again  and  back,  so  that  when  completed  it  makes  a  monogram  of  M 
and  W.  The  toe  strap  or  loop  is  simply  the  fastening  of  the  remaining 
thong.  These  are  worn  with  fishskin  boots.2 

In  Brockhaus's  Atlas  of  Ethnography,  there  is  figured  a  snowshoe 
of  the  telescoped  form  used  by  the  Swanen,  in  the  Caucasus,  and  Hitch- 
cock brought  from  Tate  Yama  a  telescoped  frame  with  wooden  wedges 
beneath,  without  foot  netting  (fig.  93,  p.  411). 

The  Samoyed  skees  are  wider  and  shorter  than  the  Norwegian,  being 
about  6  feet  long  and  6  inches  wide.  They  are  made  of  light  wood,  and 
have  deerskin  stretched  over  the  sole.  They  can  make  35  miles  a  day 
on  their  "olen  lojgia"  or  "kammus  loegia."3 

The  Giliaks  have  two  kinds  of  snowshoes  —  small,  lahk  ;  and  large,  enj. 
The  small  snowshoe  is  made  from  a  thin  board  without  covering,  U 
feet  long  and  5  to  6  inches  wide,  bent  up  and  more  or  less  pointed  in 
front.  In  different  regions  it  assumes  modifications  of  form  in  the  end. 
These  are  of  universal  use  as  sleds,  as  shovels,  and  even  as  dishes,  on 
a  pinch.  The  large  snowshoe  is  longer,  wider,  and  covered  on  the 
bottom  with  hide  of  the  seal,  the  hair  pointing  backward4  (fig.  77). 


1  Ravenstein,  "Russians  ou  the  Amur.  "  London,  1861,  pp.  323-324. 
•  Rep.  Smithsonian  Institution  (II.  S.  Nat.  Mus.),  1890,  pi.  xvu. 
Miickson,  "The  Great  Frozen  Land,"  London,  1895,  p.  69. 

^Schrenck,  "Reisen  nnd  Forechungen  im  Amur-Lande,"  St.  Petersburg,  1891,  K. 
Akad.  d.  Wissensch.,  in,  475,  pi.  xxxv,  9  flgs. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


387 


On  the  Usurithe  Yupitatze  or 
Fish  Skinshuntouly  during  win- 
ter. The  snowshoes  are  planks 
cut  from  the  pine  trees,  one- 
fourth  inch  thick, Sinches  broad. 
0  feet  long,  sloping  upward  at 
both  ends,  lined  beneath  with 
deerskin,  and  bound  tightly  to 
the  feet  by  means  of  two  straps. 
On  tin-set  he  Yupitatze  will  skim 
lightly  over  the  snow,  follow  the 
track  of  the  game,  and  go  L'O  to 
25  leagues  in  a  short  winter  day. 
He  climbs  the  mountains  with 
ease.  Thedeerskin  is  set  on  with 
the  hair  pointing  backward,  and 
this  serves  as  a  ratchet.1 

The  Tungusian  snowshoe  is  a 
skee,  about  5  feet  long  and  10 
inches  wide,  hewn  very  thin  and 
bent  up  at  the  toes.  They  are 
soled  with  skin  from  the  seal  or 
the  legs  of  the  deer  or  horse, 
witli  the'  hair  on  and  pointing 
backward.2 

At  Oudskoi  men  and  boys 
slide  down  hill  on  them,  descend- 
ing steep  declivities  at  almost 
lightning  speed.  The  snowshoer 
always  carries  a  staff  as  a  rud- 
der, a  brake,  and  a  balance  or 
fulcrum. 3 

The  snowshoes  of  the  Koraks, 
about  Ghijigha,  are  different 
from  those  farther  south.  They 
consist  of  wooden  bows,  rounded 
and  raised  in  front,  and  pointed 
at  the  rear,  over  which  a  net- 
work of  seal  thongs  is  inter- 
woven, but  very  clumsy,  and  not 
as  buoyant  as  those  used  by  the 
Yakuts  and  Tungus.4 

This  change  of  snowshoe  is 
the  result  of  natural  causes. 


1  Ravenstem,  "Russians  on  the  Amur,"  London,  1861,  p.  94. 

-Bush,  "Reindeer,  Dogs  andSnowshoes,"  New  York,  1871,  p.  UJ»». 

:'Cf.  John  Bell, "Lives of  Celebrated  Travelers."     Harper's  Maga/inc,  1NH5,  n.  p.  I  I.".. 

«Cf.  Bush,  "Reindeer,  Dogs  and  Snowshoes,"  New  York,  1871,  p.  356, 


388 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


There  is  not  enough  good,  tough  wood  in   all  northeast  Siberia  to 

make  one  skee. 
The  Kamchatkaus  hunt  sable  on  snowshoes  with  trained  dogs,  drive 

them  into  holes  which  they  surround  with  nets,  and  then,  forcing  them 

out  with  fire  and  ax,  kill  them  with  clubs.1 

The  Kamchadale  snowshoes  are  really  a  necessary  accessory  to  the 

sled  driver  to  enable  him  to  quit  the  vehicle  for  hunting  or  working 
about  it,  and  for  the  protection  of  the  road.  They 
are  made  of  thin  board,  4£  feet  long,  7  inches  broad, 
sloped  to  a  point  at  both  ends,  curved  up  in  front, 
and  arched  up  a  little  in  the  middle.  On  the  under- 
side sealskin  is  fitted  with  the  hair  pointed  back- 
ward, to  serve  as  a  ratchet.  The  straps  are  nearer 
the  front.  Langsdorff  speaks  of  them  as  extremely 
useful  in  going  up  and  down  hill.2 

uThe  Chukchi  snowshoes  are  2  feet  long,  broad 
and  flat,  front  8  inches  wide,  tapering  to  a  point 
behind,  where  to  prevent  sinking  in  the  snow  a 
piece  of  baleen  4  inches  wide  and  18  inches  long  is 
attached.  This  widening  out  of  the  trailer  by  in- 
serting a  wedge-shaped  piece  is  to  be  seen  on  New 
England  examples.  The  nettings  are  of  seal  or 
walrus  hide." 3 

Examples  Nos.  2442  and  2443  are  two  pairs  of 
Chukchi  snowshoes  from  northeast  Siberia,  col- 
lected by  Commodore  John  Rodgers,  U.  S.  N.  The 
frames  are  of  oak  roughly  squared,  the  ends  are 
pointed,  the  fronts  turn  up,  and  there  are  braces  or 
crosspieces  of  wood  and  bone.  The  netting  over 
the  central  space  is  of  coarse  caribou  skin,  rove 
through  the  sides  and  wrapped  about  the  cross- 
pieces.  There  is  ho  toe  or  heel  netting.  Length, 
35£  inches ;  breadth,  6f  inches.  One  of  these 
specimens  is  shown  in  fig.  78. 

The  wide  Amur  type  of  snowshoe  reaches  the 
northern  border  of  the  Chukchi  country.  Of  this, 
Nordenskiold  says  that  a  Chukchi  man  drove  past 
his  vessel  in  February,  and  offered  him  a  pair  of 
immensely  wide  skates  of  their  wood,  covered  with 

sealskin  and  raised  at  both  sides.4 

Of  the   Chukchi    with    whom   he    came   in   contact,  Nordenskiold 

says  that  both  men  and  women  use  snowshoes  in  winter.     Without 


Fig.  78. 

COARSE  S.VOW8HOE  WITH 
POINTED  TOE  AND  HEEL, 
WORN  BY  THE  CHUKCHI  OF 
NORTHEASTERN  SIBERIA. 

Cat.  No.  Z442,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected 

U.  S.  N. 


1  Kennan,  "Tent  Life,"  p.  159. 

-  Langsdorfl',  "Voyages,"  London,  1814,  n,  p.  291. 

:i  Hooper,  "Tents  of  the  Tuski,"  London,  1853,  p.  184. 

*"  Voyage  of  the  Vega,"  New  York,  1882,  Macmillau  &  Co.,  p.  475,  with  li 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


389 


them  they  will  uot  undertake  willingly  any  long  walk  iu  the  snow. 
The  frame  of  tin-  snow  shoe  is  of  \voo<l.  and  the  netting  of  stout 
thongs.  In  the  figure  given  by  the  author  the  frame  is  in  two 
parts,  with  two  crossbar's,  pointed  at  both  ends  and  much  turned  up  in 
front. ' 

Examples  Nos.  I>3<>01>  to  <i.'Jti04  (the  latter  being  shown  in  lig.  7'J)  are 
suowshoes  from  Icy  Cape.  The  frames  are  roughly  whittled  and  pointed 
at  the  heel.  Netting  fine,  babiche  woven  open  and  strong,  and  m\e 
through  the  frame.  The  foot  is  supported 
on  strong  rawhide  thong  laid  rectangular. 
Length, 30 inches;  width,  10J  inches.  Col- 
lected by  K.  W.  Nelson. 

The  Eskimo  about  Bering  Strait  make 
their  suowshoe  frames  from  willow  and 
alder,  the  only  growing  trees  about  that 
vicinity.  They  are  like  those  just  described 
from  the  Chukchi  area.  Indeed,  the  typi- 
cal Eskimo  snowshoe  has  always  coarse 
netting.  There  are  two  pairsof  thesedouble 
pointed,  rude  snowshoes  from  about  Bering 
Strait  in  the  Museum  of  Natural  History, 
New  York.  They  are  in  excellent  condi- 
tion, and  one  of  them  has  a  line  nicely 
served  extending  from  the  toe  point  to 
the  trout  bar.  The  netting  is  of  coarse 
thong,  and  forms  legular  parallelograms 
under  the  feet.  These  have  been  examined 
through  the  courtesy  of  Professor  Putnam 
and  Mr.  Marshall  Saville. 

Kxample  No.  lf>605isasetof  three  snow- 
shoe  frames  from  Ponook,  a  little  island 
east  of  St.  Lawrence  Island,  Bering  Sea, 
collected  by  Henry  W.  Elliott.  They  are 
short,  made  of  two  pieces,  thin  and  straight, 
in  cross  section.  The  braces  are  broad  and 
flat,  ends  pointed  and  sharply  curved  up 
in  front.  The  lashing  is  with  thongs  of 
seal  or  walrus  hide.  Length,  21  inches; 
breadth,  9  inches.  Other  examples,  col- 
lected by  E.  W.  Nelson  (Nos.  63236, 63242), 
are  nearly  flat,  the  frame  coarsely  made  in  two  pieces,  the  netting  of 
walrus-hide  thong.  An  average  length  is  4£  feet.2 

The  Inuuit  snowshoe  is  small  and  nearly  flat,  seldom  over  30  inches 
long.    They  are  always  rights  and  lefts.    Ingalik,  larger;  Kutchin,  same 


Fig.  79. 

NETTED     SNOWSHOE     FBOM     ICY     CAPE, 

ALASKA. 

Cat.  No.  63604,  U.  S.  S.  M.     Collected   l.v  K.  W. 
Nelson. 


1  "Voyage  of  the  Vega,"  New  York,  1882,  Macmillan  &  Co.,  p.  47:.. 

•See  also  Whymper,  "Travels  and  Adventures  in  tin-  Territory  of  Alaska/'  p.  183. 


390 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


style ;  Hudson  Bay,  30  inches  in  length. '    They  are  from  2  to  3  feet  long, 
1  foot  broad,  and  slightly  turned  up  in  front.2 

Example  No.  48092  (fig.  80)  is  a  pair  of  snowshoes  from  Cape  Darby, 
Alaska,  north  of  Norton  Sound,  collected  by  E.  W.  Nelson.  Frame  in 
two  pieces,  rounded  in  cross  section,  and  cut  small  in  front.  The  toe  is 
rounded  and  sharply  curved  up ;  heel  pointed.  The  foot  netting,  strong 
seal-thong  rove  through  the  frame.  Both  shoes  are  alike.  Length,  36 
inches ;  width,  10£  inches.  This  coarse  shoe  is  a  connecting  link  between 
the  ruder  Asiatic  and  the  finer  Athapascan  forms. 
In  this  one  the  round  toe  has  taken  the  place  of  the 
pointed  toe,  and  there  is  a  trace  of  toe  netting. 

Example  No.  48103  is  a  pair  of  snowshoe  models 
from  Norton  Bay,  Alaska,  collected  from  the 
Mahleinut  Eskimo  by  E.  W.  Nelson.  The  frame  is 
rounded,  in  section,  wide  in  front,  and  strongly 
curved  up.  The  netting  is  of  deerskin  thong 
twisted  into  twine.  Length,  19£  inches;  width,  4J 
inches. 

Example  No.  45400  (pi.  11)  is  a  pair  of  snowshoes 
from  Norton  Sound,  Alaska,  collected  from  the 
Ingalik  Indians  (Kai  yuh  kha  tana)  by  E.  W.  Nelson. 
The  frame  is  made  of  two  pieces  spliced  in  front  and 
rounded  in  section.  The  netting  is  made  of  deer 
sinew  twisted  and  attached  to  loops  rove  through 
the  frame;  strongly  curved  up  in  front  and  pointed 
at  the  heel.  They  are  rights  and  lefts,  a  slight  dif- 
ference being  made  in  the  frames.  The  method  of 
attaching  by  the  toe  and  heel  loop  is  described  by 
Murdoch,  page 391.  Length,  46  inches;  width,  10£ 
inches.  In  the  transition  from  the  rectangular  and 
shapeless  meshes  to  hexagonal  meshes  in  the  three 
spaces,  this  specimen  fills  a  gap.  The  toe  netting 
is  tolerably  good  hexagonal  weaving.  The  foot  net 
ting  is  still  as  poor  as  any  of  its  square- woven  type, 
and  the  heel  space  is  filled  with  a  warp  of  thong 
converging  at  the  trailer,  held  in  position  by  a  line 
of  "bird-cage"  weaving  athwart  its  middle. 
The  Kai  yuh  kho  tana  of  Dall  and  Ingalik  of  the  Russians  (acorruptiou 
of  the  native  or  Eskimo  word  meaning  Indians)  occupy  the  low  tundra 
on  and  about  the  Yukon  and  the  Kuskokwim.  They  are  Athapascan. 
Dall  says  that  their  habits  vary  with  their  environment,  some  being 
fishermen,  others  hunting  the  moose  and  the  deer.  On  the  Yukon  the 
southernmost  settlements  trade  dry  fish  and  wooden  ware,  in  making 

'Dall,  "Alaska  ami  its  Resources,"  pp.  190-191. 

-  Seemari,  in  "The  Zoology  of  the  Voyage  of  H.  M.  S.  Heralddurmg  theyears  1845-51," 
London,  1853,  n,  p.  60. 


Fly.  80. 

NETTED    SNOWSHOE    FKOM 

CAPE  DARBY,  ALASKA. 
Cat.  No.  48092,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Col- 
lected by  E.  W.  Nelson. 


EXPLANATION     OF    PLATE     11. 

NETTED  SNOWSHOES. 

These  specimens  are  somewhat  short  and  wide.  The  frames  are  of  two  pieces 
of  wood,  spliced  in  front,  round  in  cross  section  and  turned  up  at  the  toe,  having 
pointed  heel  and  crossbars  let  into  the  frame.  The  perforations  of  the  frame  for 
the  cord  to  which  the  netting  is  attached,  are  in  pairs,  separated  on  the  inside  and 
coming  together  on  the  outside  just  below  the  surface,  so  that  the  foundation 
thong  may  be  tied  in  a  series  of  single  knots,  concealed  on  the  outside  and  forming 
a  line  of  loops  on  the  inside  of  the  frame. 

The  netting  or  filling  in  front  is  in  hexagonal  weaving  through  the  foundation 
thong  above  mentioned.  The  netting  in  the  rear  space  consists  of  ten  filaments 
passing  through  the  vertical  holes  in  the  rear  of  the  hindmost  crossbar,  and  converg- 
ing toward  the  heel^where  they  are  fastened  off  in  the  thong  that  binds  the  frame 
together.  Midway  of  these  longitudinal  filaments  a  cross  thong  is  wrapped  in 
bird-cage  style  to  hold  them  in  place.  The  netting  in  the  foot  space  is  of  stout 
thong,  rove  through  the  frame  at  the  sides  and  running  parallel.  It  is  wrapped 
twice  abovit  the  front  crossbar  and  four  times  about  the  rear  crossbar  or  cross 
lashing,  making  meshes  which  are  a  compromise  between  rectangular  and  hexa- 
gonal weaving.  Norton  Bay,  Alaska.  Collected  by  E.  W.  Nelson. 

(Cat.  Xo.  45400,  U.  S.  N.  M.) 


Report  of  National  Museurr,  1894.      Mason 


PLATE  1 1, 


• 


NETTED  SNOWSHOES. 
Norton  M-\y.  Alaska. 


EXPLANATION    OF    PLATE    12. 

NETTED  SNOWSHOES. 

These  shoes  are  broad  in  front.  The  frames  are  made  of  two  pieces  of  rounded 
wood,  spliced  and  turned  up  at  the  toe,  pointed  at  the  heel,  and  having  three 
crossbars  let  into  the  frame.  There  are  perforations  in  the  frame  around  the 
front  space  and  hinder  spaces  passing  vertically  through  a  keeled  projection,  as 
in  lacrosse  sticks.  The  frame  alongside  the  middle  of  the  foot  space  has  six  holes 
bored  quite  through  for  the  cross  lashing.  The  main  crossbars  have  vertical  per- 
forations on  the  margins  away  from  the  foot  space.  The  short  crossbar  is  not 
perforated  and  the  frame  sticks  do  not  bulge  out  at  this  point. 

The  netting,  front  and  rear,  is  of  babiche  in  hexagonal  weaving,  done  into  a  set 
of  loops  around  the  inner  margin  of  the  frame  and  tied  by  single  knots  into 
V-shaped  perforations. 

The  foot  netting  is  of  stout  rawhide  in  parallel  or  rectangular  weaving,  the 
fore-and-aft  lines  being  doubled  and  twisted  about  the  transverse  set.  This  speci- 
men is  a  transition  form  between  the  irregular  and  the  hexagonal  style  of  footing. 

Ingalik  of  Nulato,  Alaska.     Collected  by  E.  W.  Nelson. 

(Cat.  No.  49099,  U.  S.  N.  M.) 


Report  of  National  Museum,  1894.- Mason. 


PLATE  12. 


/- 


I  «-f/ft  » 


NETTED  SNOWSHOES. 
Inpnlik  of  Nulato,  Alaska. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  391 

which  they  are  very  expert,  ami  strong  birch  bark  canoes  with  the 
upper  Yukon  and  Shageluk  people. 

Example  No.  38873  is  a  pair  of  snowshoes  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Yukon  River,  Alaska, collected  from  the  Eskimo  by  E.  W.  Nelson.  They 
are  nearly  flat,  the  frame  rounded  in  section  and  roughly  made.  Toe 
rounded,  heel  pointed.  Toe  and  heel  netting  destroyed,  but  forim-rlv 
made  of  sinew  twine;  the  foot  netting  of  hide  thong.  Both  shoes  alike. 
Length,  36£  inches;  width,  «J£  inches.  The  noteworthy  feature  in  these 
specimens  is  the  manipulation  of  the  foot  thong,  which  is  rove  through 
the  front  crossbar  and  the  sides  of  the  frame,  and  is  carried  around  the 
hind  crossbar.  The  first  meshes  in  the  rear  are  suggestive  of  hexagonal 
weaving,  but  this  design  is  arrested  by  the  second  cross  line,  and  the 
six  fore  and  aft  strands  are  made  parallel  in  pairs.  These  by  simply 
rising  and  falling  as  in  a  common  warp  hold  the  cross  lines  from  sagging. 
The  rest  under  the  ball  of  the  foot  is  simple  and  effective,  and  affords 
an  explanation  of  the  more  elaborate  construction  of  this  part  else- 
where. 

Example  No.  49099  (pi.  12)  is  a  pair  of.  snowshoes  from  Nulato  (64°,  40', 
158°,  NW.),  Alaska,  collected  from  the  Ingalik  Indians  (Athapascan)  by 
E.  W.  Nelson.  Bound  toe,  strongly  curved  up;  long,  pointed  heel.  Toe 
and  heel  netting  of  twisted  deer  sinew;  foot  netting  and  foot  loop  of 
thong.  Rights  and  lefts.  Example  No.  8812,  collected  by  Dall,  is  similar 
to  the  foregoing.  The  short  crossbar  near  the  trailer  should  be  noticed 
as  leading  up  to  a  similar  device  further  on  with  a  new  function. 

Example  No.  127941  is  a  pair  of  snowshoes  from  Putnam  River,  Alaska, 
collected  by  Lieutenant  Stoney,  U.  S.  N.  The  frame  is  in  cross  section, 
rounded  at  the  toe  and  curved  up;  the  heel  is  long  and  pointed;  toe 
and  heel  netting  of  twined  deer  sinew;  the  foot  netting  and  loops  of 
strong  walrus-hide  thong.  Length,  54  inches;  width,  8^. 

Simpson,  in  his  journal,  says  that  snowshoes  are  so  seldom  used  in 
the  North  where  the  drifted  snow  presents  a  hard  surface  to  walk  upon 
that  not  half  a  dozen  pairs  were  in  existence  at  Point  Barrow  at  the 
time  of  his  sojourn  ( 1853-55), '  and  those  were  of  an  inferior  sort.  Mur- 
doch thinks  the  Point  Barrow  Eskimo  learned  to  make  the  finer  sort 
from  the  people  of  Kuwuk  River,  who  have  trading  relations  with  the 
Indians,  and  in  Simpson's  time  the  Kuwuk  people  used  the  Indian  shoe. 
Murdoch  thus  describes  the  present  Point  Barrow  shoe: 

Snowshoes  (tuglu)  of  a  very  efficient  pattern  and  very  well  made  are  now  uni- 
versally employed  at  Point  Barrow.  Although  the  snow  never  lies  very  deep  on 
tin-  ground,  and  is  apt  to  pile  up  in  hard  drifts,  it  is  sufficiently  deep  and  soft 
in  many  places,  especially  on  the  grassy  parts  of  the  tundra,  to  make  walking 
without  snowshoes  very  inconvenient  and  fatiguing.  I  have  even  seen  tnem  used 
on  the  sea  ice  for  crossing  level  spaces  when  a  few  inches  of  snow  had  fallen. 
Kach  shoe  consists  of  a  rini  of  light  wood  bent  into  the  shape  of  a  pointed 
<>val.  about  live  times  as  long  as  the  greatest  breadth,  and  much  bent  up  at  the 
rounded  end,  which  is  the  toe.  The  sides  are  braced  apart  by  two  stout  crossbars 

1  Simpson,  "Narrative  of  Discoveries  of  the  North  Coast  of  America,"  p.  243. 


392 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


(toe  and  heel  bar),  a  little  farther  apart  than  the  length  of  the  wearer's  foot.     The 
space  between  these  two  bars  is  netted  in  large  meshes  (foot  netting),  with  stout 

thong  for  the  foot  to  rest  upon,  and  the  spaces  at  the 
ends  are  closely  netted  with  fine  deerskin  ''babiche,'1 
or  sinew  thread  (toe  and  heel  netting).  The  straps  for 
the  foot  are  fastened  to  the  foot  netting  in  such  a  way 
that  while  the  strap  is  firmly  fastened  round  the. ankle 
the  snowshoe  is  slung  to  the  toe.  The  wearer  walks 
with  long,  swinging  strides,  lifting  the  toe  of  the  shoe 
at  each  step,  while  the  tail  or  heel  drags  in  the  snow. 
The  straps  are  so  contrived  that  the  foot  can  be  slipped 
in  and  out  of  them  without  touching  them  with  the 
fingers,  a  great  advantage  in  cold  weather. 


/tV.W.t/my^, 

/illlpt 


WW^^wB. 

'( i  •  » . .'  1 1 4 » i ,-.  •  .  JV, , , ,  t ».,*//»«. 

| .  1 1 .  .'.»  »*•»•»  1 1',  .t-T.f.f  »»»».'A*»"  , 

i  jrtVfA».«:««/Av  W/AW.V.W 


Example  No.  88912  is  a  pair  of  snowshoes 
from  Point  Barrow  collected  by  Captain  Bay 
and  described  by  Murdoch.  (Fig.  81.)  The 
rim  is  of  willow,  51  inches  long  and  10£  inches 
wide  at  the  broadest  part,  and  is  made  of  two 
strips  about  1  inch  thick  and  three-fourths  of 
an  inch  wide,  joined  at  the  toe  by  a  long  lap- 
splice,  held  together  by  four  short  horizontal 
or  slightly  oblique  stitches  of  thong.  Each 
strip  is  elliptical  in  section,  with  the  long  axis 
vertical,  and  keeled  on  the  inner  face,  except 
between  the  bars.  Each  is  tapered  off  consid- 
erably from  the  toe  bar  to  the  toe,  and  slightly 
tapered  toward  the  heel.  The  two  points  are 
fastened  together  by  a  short  horizontal  stitch 
of  baleen.  The  tip  is  produced  into  a  slight 
trailer,  and  the  inner  side  of  each  shoe  is 
slightly,  straighter  than  the  outer — that  is  to 
say,  they  are  "rights  and  lefts." 

The  bars  are  elliptical  in  section,  flattened, 
and  have  their  ends  mortised  into  the  rim. 
They  are  about  a  foot  apart,  and  of  oak,  the 
toe  bar  9.2  inches  long  and  the  heel  bar  8.5. 
Both  are  of  the  same  breadth  and  thickness,  1 
inch  by  one-half  inch.  There  is  also  an  extra 
bar  for  strengthening  the  back  part  of  the 
shoe  10  inches  from  the  point.  It  is  of  oak, 
4.8  inches  long,  one-half  inch  wide,  and  three 
tenths  of  an  inch  thick  (fig.  82).  The  toe  and 
heel  nettings  are  put  on  first.  Small  equi- 
distant vertical  holes  through  the  frame  run 
round  the  inside  of  each  space.  Those  in  the 
rim  are  drilled  through  the  keel  already  men- 
tioned, and  joined  by  a  shallow  groove  above  and  below.  Those  in  the 
bars  are  about  one-half  inch  from  the  edge  and  joined  by  a  groove  on  the 


FIG.  81. 

FINELY  NETTED  SNOWSHOE  FROM 
POINT  BARROW,  ALASKA. 

From  :i  figure  in  the  Ninth  Annual  Report 
of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 
I':, i.  No.  89912,  U.  S.  N.  M 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  393 

under  side  of  the  toe  bar  only.  Into  these  holes  is  laced  a  piece  of 
babiche,  which  is  knotted  once  into  each  hole,  making  a  series  of  beck- 
ets  about  three-fourths  of  an  inch  wide  round  the  inside  of  the  space. 
There  are  no  lacing  holes  in  the  parts  spliced  at  the  toe,  but  the  lacing 
passes  through  a  bight  of  each  stitch.  At  the  toe  bar  the  lacing  is 
carried  across  from  rim  to  rim  about  three  times,  the  last  part  being 
wound  round  the  others. 

On  the  left  shoe  the  end  is  brought  back  on  the  left-hand  side,  passed 
through  the  first  hole  in  the  bar  from  above,  carried  along  in  the  groove 
on  the  underside  to  the  next  hole,  up  through  this  and  round  the  lacing, 
and  back  through  the  same  hole,  the  two  parts  being  twisted  together 
between  the  bar  and  lacing.  This  is  continued,  "stopping"  the  lacing 
in  festoons  to  the  bar,  to  the  last  hole  on  the  right,  where  it  is  finished 
off  by  knotting  the  end  round  the  last  "stop."' 

Kxample  No.  89913  is  a  pair  of  snowshoes  from  Point  Barrow,  shorter 
and  broader  than  those  just  described.  The  hinder  bar  is  of  walrus 
ivory.  They  are  48£  inches  long  and  11  broad.  The  two  shoes  are  not 
perceptibly  different  in  shape.  The  lacing,  which  is  of  sinew  braid,  is 
put  on  in  the  same  way  as  on  the  pre- 

ceding pair,  except  that  it  is  fastened         \        /  \         I. 

directly  into  the  holes  on  the  toe  bars.         \\    I  / 
The  whole  of  the  heel  netting  is  in  one     ^     /J    IT      ( 
piece,  and  made  precisely  in  the  same      \  _  I  I  _  II  _  \ 
way  as  the  point  nettings  of  the  first 
pair,  the   end   being   carried  up  the 

KNOT    ON    REAR  CROSS  BAR  OK  ESKIMO  SNOW- 

middle  to  the  point  of  the  heel,  and  SHOE. 


again   tO    the  bar,  aS    On         From  a  &t»ra  in  the  Ninth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bur.au 

of  Ethnolony. 

the  toe  nettings,  but  fastened  with 

marling  hitches.  The  number  of  strands  is  the  same  in  each  shoe  — 
twenty-three  in  each  set.  The  toe  nettings  follow  quite  regularly  the 
pattern  of  the  preceding  pair. 

The  shoes  are  not  quite  the  same  si/e,  as  the  right  has  35,  35,  and  28 
strands,  and  the  left  33,  33,  and  25,  in  each  set,  respectively.  There  is 
no  regular  rule  about  the  number  of  strands  in  any  part  of  the  netting, 
the  object  being  simply  to  make  the  meshes  always  about  the  same 
si/e.  The  foot  netting  is  made  of  stout  and  very  white  thong  from  the 
bearded  seal.  These  shoes  have  no  strings. 

No.  89!>14  [1738]  is  a  pair  of  rather  small  shoes  from  Utkiavwln,  one 
of  which  is  shown  in  fig.  83.  They  are  rights  and  lefts,  and  are  42 
inches  long  by  10  broad.  The  frame  is  wholly  of  oak,  and  differs  from 
the  type  only  in  having  no  extra  hind  bar,  and  having  the  heel  and  toe 
bars  about  equal  in  length.  The  points  are  fastened  together  with  a 
treenail,  as  well  as  with  a  whalebone  stitch.  The  heel  nettings  are  put 
on  with  perfect  regularity,  as  on  the  pair  last  described,  but  the  tor 


•Cf.  Murdoch,  Ninth  Aim.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  pp.  344-352,  liga.  350-354,  for 
minute  details  of  making  and  weaving. 


394 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


nettings,  though  they  start  in  the  usual  way,  do  not  follow  any  regular 
rule  of  succession,  the  rounds  being  put  on  sometimes  inside  and 
sometimes  outside  of  the  preceding,  till  the  whole  space  is  filled.  The 
foot  nettings  are  somewhat  clumsily  made,  especially  on  the  right  shoe, 
which  appears  to  have  been  broken  in  several  places,  and  "cobbled'' 
by  an  unskillful  workman.  There  are  only  five 
transverse  strands  which  are  double  on  the  left 
shoe,  and  the  longitudinal  strands  are  not 
whipped  to  these,  but  interwoven,  and  each  pair 
twisted  together  between  the  transverse  strands. 
There  is  no  wattling  back  of  the  toe  hole,  and 
one  pair  of  longitudinal  strands  at  the  side  of 
the  latter  is  not  doubled  on  the  left  shoe.  The 
strings  are  put  on  as  on  the  type,  except  that 
the  ends  are  knotted  instead  of  being  spliced. 
This  pair  of  shoes  was  used  by  Mr.  Murdoch 
during  the  winters  1881-82  and  1882-83,  while 
serving  on  the  International  Polar  Expedition 
as  naturalist  and  observer. 

Example  No.  38874  is  a  pair  of  suowshoes  from 
Lake  Iliamna  (59°,  154°,  NW.),  Alaska,  between 
Bristol  Bay  and  Cooks  Inlet,  and  at  the  eastern 
extremity  of  Alaskan  Peninsula,  collected  from 
the  Kenai  Indians  by  E.  W.  Nelson.  Frame 
rounded  in  section,  netting  of  deer-sinew  twine 
rove  through  the  frame.  Toe  round  and  strongly 
curved  up;  heel  pointed.  Rights  and  lefts. 
Length,  51£  inches;  width,  12£. 

Examples  Nos.  72240  and  72241  (pi.  13)  are 
suowshoes  from  Bristol  Bay,  Alaska,  collected 
from  the  Indians  (Tinne').  The  frame  is  square 
in  section,  toe  rounded  and  strongly  curved  up, 
heel  long  and  pointed.  Toe  and  heel  netting  of 
twined  deer  sinew,  foot  netting  of  strong  raw- 
hide thong,  all  rove  through  the  frame.  They 
are  rights  and  lefts,  and  have  the  typical  toe  and 
heel  straps.  Length,  44  inches;  width,  9$. 

Example  No.  63558  (pi.  14)  is  a  pair  of  suow- 
shoes collected  at  Sitka,  Alaska,  by  J.  J.  McLean. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  Sitka  is  the  marine 
entrepdt  for  all  the  surrounding  region.  Trade  goes  to  the  interio 
of  the  continent  up  Lynn  Canal  and  Chilkat  River,  and  over  the 
passes  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Yukon  River.  The  snowshoes  here 
described,  and  others,  therefore,  are  Tinm'1,  or  Athapascan.  The  long, 
slender  frame,  rounded  section,  round  toe  bent  up,  and  long,  tapering 
heel  are  typical.  Toe  and  heel  netting  of  babiche  close  and  fine.  Foot 


Fig.  83. 

SMALL  NETTED  SNOWSHOK  FROM 
POINT  BARROW,  ALASKA. 

From  a  figure  in  the  Ninth  Annual  Report 
of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 
Cut.  No.  89914,  IT.  S.  N.  M. 


EXPLANATION    OF    PLATE     13. 

NETTED  SNOWSHOES. 

These  specimens  are  not  mates.  They  are  spatulate  in  form,  each  space  having 
its  peculiar  shape.  The  frame  is  in  two  pieces  neatly  spliced  in  front,  round  in 
section,  much  turned  up  at  the  toe,  long  pointed  at  the  heel,  and  has  three  cross- 
bars let  into  it.  In  this  example  each  crossbar  modifies  the  outline.  There  are 
V-shaped  perforations  about  the  front  and  rear  spaces,  in  the  middle  of  the  long 
crossbars,  as  well  as  in  their  outer  margins,  and  quite  through  -the  frames  along- 
side the  foot  space.  The  short  crossbar  is  not  perforated. 

The  netting  is  hexagonal  in  front,  built  up  on  a  thong  knotted  into  V-shaped 
perforations  of  the  frame  and  into  the  vertical  perforations  of  the  crossbar.  In 
the  rear  space,  owing  to  its  elongated  triangular  form,  the  weft,  as  it  might  be 
called,  is  twined  once  from  warp  to  warp, 'which  is  neatly  let  into  V-shaped  bor- 
ings through  the  frame.  In  this  Bristol  Bay  type  the  foot  rest  is  in  rectangular 
weaving  with  double  and  twisted  longitudinal  filaments.  The  rest  for  the  ball  of 
the  foot  and  opening  for  the  toes  is  formed  by  neatly  wrapping  the  rawhide 
thong  at  this  point. 

Bristol  Bay,  Alaska.     Collected  by  Charles  L.  McKay. 

(Cat.  No.  72421,  U.  S.  N.  M.) 


Report  of  National  Museum,  1894.— Mason. 


PLATE  1  3. 


NETTED  SNOWSHOES. 
Bristol  Bay,  Alaska. 


EXPLANATION    OF     PLATE     14. 
NETTED  SNOWSHOES. 

These  specimens  are  leaf -shaped,  suddenly  tapering  at  the  heel,  and  are  not 
mates.  The  frames  are  in  two  pieces,  spliced  and  neatly  wrapped  in  front,  pointed 
oval  in  section,  and  well  turned  up  at  the  toe.  This  is  much  more  the  case  in  one 
specimen  than  in  the  other.  They  are  bluntly  pointed  at  the  heel  and  have  three 
crossbars.  The  perforations  of  the  frame  run  vertically  through  a  keel  on  the 
inner  side  of  the  front  and  hind  space  quite  through  at  the  sides  of  the  foot  space, 
while  there  are  none  whatever  in  the  crosspieces,  except  a  long  slit  for  obvious  rea- 
sons in  front  of  the  toe  openings. 

Netting,  hexagonal,  front  and  rear,  and  quadrangular  in  the  foot  space. 

The  leaf-shape  and  the  abrupt  heel  curve  should  be  noted. 

Sitka,  Alaska.     Collected  by  J.  J.  McLean. 

(Cat.  No.  63558,  U..S.  N.  M.) 


Report  of  National  Museum,  1394.— Mason. 


PLATE  14. 


NETTED  SNOWSHOES. 

Sitka,  Alaska. 


EXPLANATION    OF    PLATE     15. 

NETTED  SNOWSHOES. 

These  specimens  are  long  and  irregular.  The  frames  are  in  two  pieces,  spliced 
and  lashed  together  in  front,  pointed  oval  in  section,  and  much  turned  up  at  the 
toe.  having  three  crossbars  and  being  wedge-shaped  behind  the  third.  The  perfo- 
rations of  the  frame  around  the  front  and  rear  spaces  are  vertical.  There  are  no 
perforations  for  the  foot  lashing  in  the  frames  or  crossbars.  A  slit  is  cut  in  the 
front  crossbar  before  the  toe  space. 

Netting,  in  hexagonal  weaving,  done  on  a  thong  knotted  into  the  vertical  perfo- 
rations and  about  the  long  crossbars.  Foot  netting,  in  coarse  hexagonal  weaving 
wrapped  about  the  crossbars  and  frame.  Extra  thong  and  wrapping  form  the 
rest  for  the  ball  of  the  foot  and  toe  space. 

Sitka,  Alaska.     Collected  by  ,T.  G.  Swan. 

(Cat.  No.  20783,  U.  S.  N.  M.) 

NOTE.— Snqwshoes  are  not  worn  in  Sitka.  Specimens  brought  there  are  from  the  Chilkat 
country  and  the  head  waters  of  the  Yukon. 


rteport  of  National  Museum,  1894.— Mason. 


PLATE  15. 


NETTED  SNOWSHOES. 
Sitka,  Alaska. 


EXPLANATION    OF    PLATE    16. 

NETTED  SNOWSHOES. 

The  frames  are  of  two  pieces  of  wood  squared  and  tapered,  spliced  and  lashed 
together  in  front,  nearly  sharp  and  much  turned  up  at  the  toe,  pointed  at  the  heel 
with  short  trailers.  There  are  four  crossbars,  three  of  which  are  in  front.  The 
perforations  of  the  frame  are  V-shaped  in  front  and  rear,  and  wanting  about  the 
foot  space,  excepting  three  in  the  crossbar  in  front  of  the  foot  lacing. 

The  netting  in  all  the  spaces  is  hexagonal,  and  of  different  fineness.  In  the 
front  arid  rear  spaces,  by  omitting  cross  threads  and  twining  the  diagonals,  a 
beautiful  lace-work  effect  is  produced.  The  lacing  of  the  foot  rest  is  about  the 
framework,  excepting  the  two  front  cross  lines  under  the  ball  of  the  foot.  Those 
are  rove  through  the  frame,  doubled  and  twisted.  The  decorations 'are  tufts  of 
red  yarn  gathered  into  the  knots  of  the  thong  into  which  the  network  is  done. 
The  device  to  prevent  the  toe  of  the  moccasin  from  wearing  the  loops  of  the  front 
netting  is  noteworthy. 

Fort  Simpson,  Mackenzie  River  District.     Collected  by  B.  R.  Ross. 

(Cat.  No.  5647,  U.  S.  N.  M.) 


Report  of  National  Museum,  1894  — Mason 


PLATE  16. 


NETTED  SNOWSHOES. 

1  i nil- iii  Bay  Coiniwiiy'H  i>atU-ni.     Fort  Siniiison,  Mackenzie  River  District.  Canada. 


PRIMITIVK    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  395 

netting  of  raw  hide  rove  through  the  frame.     Painted  and  ornamented 
with  beads.     Rights  and  lefts.     Length,  49  inches;  width,  llf. 

A  second  pair,  collected  by  McLean  from  the  Chilkat,  has  the  netting 
of  sinew  twine  instead  of  babiche  (No.  724(i2j. 

Example  No.  20783  (pi.  15)  is  also  Chilkat,  collected  in  Sitka  by  James 
G.  Swan,  the  lacing  being  of  sinew  twine.  Paymaster  Webster  collected 
here  a  specimen,  NO.  127614,  of  the  three-brace  type,  the  netting  of 
babiclie.  The  Emmons  collection  in  the  Museum  of  Natural  History, 
New  York,  contains  an  excellent  example  of  the  Chilkat  transitional 
type  of  sno\\  shoes.  The  frame  is  in  two  pieces,  Athapascan  in  type, 
much  curved  up  at  the  toe,  and  even  incurved  or  emarginate  at  the 
extreme  front.  The  toe  and  the  heel  netting  are  of  babiche,  and  not  of 
sinew  thread.  The  foot  netting  is  of  coarse  rawhide  thong,  but  is  woven 
with  hexagonal  mesh.  Underneath  the  inner  margin  of  each  shoe  the 
black  tip  of  a  goat  horn  is  lashed  so  as  to  incline  backward  and  catch 
in  the  snow.  It  is  in  this  respect  unique. 

Kxaniple  No.  20783  is  a  pair  of  suowshoes  procured  in  Sitkaby  J.  G. 
Swan.  They  are  of  great  interest  in  this  connection.  The  frame  and 
crossbars  conform  to  the  customary  plan  of  the  Kutchin  snowshoe.  AC 
the  heel  the  crossbar  marks,  as  in  other  examples,  a  sudden  change  in 
the  curve.  The  toe  is  properly  turned  up.  But  in  one  particular  the 
shoe  is  typical.  The  network  is  not  of  coarse  rawhide  laid  in  quadran- 
gular meshes,  but  is  coarsely  woven  in  the  hexagonal  mesh.  The  speci- 
men is  in  fact  a  transition  between  the  Eskimo  foot  netting  and  the 
refined  hexagonal  netting  of  the  interior,  which  grows  more  and  more 
delicate  and.  symmetrical  as  the  Siouan,  Chippewa,  and  Iroquoiau 
areas  across  the  boundary  between  Canada  and  the  United  States  are 
reached  where  steel  knives  are  in  vogue. 

Example  No.  1974  is  a  pair  of  snowshoes  from  the  Chippewayan 
Indians,  Mackenzie  River,  collected  by  B.  R.  Ross,  used  as  far  as  the 
Arctic  Coast.  The  frames  are  squared  in  section,  in  two  pieces,  pointed 
at  both  ends,  sharply  curved  up  in  front.  Netting  of  babiche,  close  and 
tine,  the  foot  netting  being  wrapped  about  the  frame  and  coarser  than 
the  rest.  The  frames  are  painted  and  ornamented  with  tutts  of  worsted 
on  the  outside.  Length,  33£  inches;  width,  74  inches.  Mr.  Ross  also 
collected  examples  Nos.  2046  and  5647  (pi.  16),  model  of  Chippewayan 
shoe  used  as  far  north  as  the  Arctic  Coast  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany's voyageurs. 

Robert  Kennicott  collected  among  the  Yellow  Knife  Indians  at  Fort 
Resolution,  Canada,  a  pair  of  the  pointed  models  just  described,  exam 
pie  No.  2045,  and  examples  Nos.  860,  861,  and  5646  at  Fort  Good  Hope. 
Of  these  he  says  that  those  of  smaller  size  are  for  walking  behind  dog 
sledges.  He  also  says  that  the  voyageurs  sometimes  use  the  round- 
toed  shoe,  but  that  they  prefer  the  pointed  kind. 

In  the  Catlin  collection,  example  No.  73310  National  Museum,  is 
another  example  of  this  type.  The  foot  lacing  wrapped  about  the  frame 


396  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

is  protected  by  an  additional  seizing  of  cloth.  The  shoes  are  fastened 
to  the  feet  by  a  soft  strip  of  deerskin  instead  of  the  hard  thong. 

Mackenzie  says  of  the  Chippewayan  that  their  snowshoes  are  of 
superior  workmanship.  The  inner  part  of  the  frame  is  straight,  the 
outer  one  is  curved,  pointed  at  both  ends,  and  turned  up  in  front. 
They  are  also  laced  with  great  neatness  with  thongs  made  of  deerskin.1 
Especially  noteworthy  in  this  connection  is  the  squared  frame,  lentic- 
ular outline  pointed  at  both  ends,  the  number  of  crossbars  in  front, 
the  close  netting  in  the  foot  space,  and  the  soft  band  of  the  foot  straps. 

An  old,  worm  eaten  specimen  in  the  National  Museum  from  the  Catliu 
collection  exhibits  the  ingenious  manner  in  which  the  frames  are  bored 
for  the  cord  or  line  to  sustain  the  toe  and  heel  netting.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  in  the  Athapascan  type  the  holes  are  usually  vertical  through 
a  keel  or  molding  on  the  inside  of  the  frame.  But  in  the  Voyageur 
specimens,  which  are  an  Algonquian  intrusion  into  an  Athapascan  area, 
two  small  holes  are  made  in  the  frame,  at  the  middle  of  the  inner  face, 
near  together,  and  so  inclined  as  to  meet  about  the  middle  of  the  wood 
on  the  outer  face.  One  of  the  holes  continues  on  through  to  enable 
the  workman  to  push  the  thread  through  and  back,  coming  out  at  a 
hole  other  than  the  one  in  which  it  entered.  The  thread  is  then  pulled 
tight  and  tied  in  a  single  knot.  This  laborious  process  is  repeated  at 
intervals  of  an  inch  on  the  frames  for  the  foot  and  heel  netting.  The 
holes  in  the  crossbars  are  bored  down  straight  through. 

The  sort  of  weaving  practiced  on  all  the  Athapascan  and  Algouquian 
snowshoes  is  paralleled  in  the  cedar  bark  weaving  of  the  north  Pacific 
Coast  and  in  Japan.  The  filaments  pass  in  three  directions,  crossing- 
each  other  at  an  angle  of  60  degrees  and  leaving  hexagonal  interstices. 
But  in  the  old  example  now  considered,  features  of  textile  work  are 
introduced  that  are  seen  in  the  net  work  of  the  Yuma  tribes  of 
southern  California,  and  thence  southward,  also  in  grass  work  from  the 
Aleuts,  and  occasionally  in  bark  work  from  the  Pacific  Coast.  The 
regular  three  direction  or  hexagonal  weaving  is  interrupted  here  and 
there  by  the  omission  of  a  cross  filament.  In  such  case  the  two  diagonal 
filaments  make  a  half  turn,  a  whole  turn,  a  turn  and  a  half,  and  so  on 
about  each  other,  leaving  elongated  hexagons  flanked  by  twine.  By  an 
alteration  in  the  spacing  along  the  crossbar,  rows  of  wider  spacing  are 
carried  diagonally  across  the  netting.2 

The  Cree  snowshoe  is  flat,  squared  off  in  front,  sharp  behind,  has  two 
broad  crossbars,  and  is  finely  netted  in  the  three  spaces. 

The  Chippewayan  snowshoes  are  of  superior  workmanship,  and  are 
rights  and  lefts,  pointed  at  both  ends,  turned  up  in  front,  and  laced 
with  thongs  of  deerskin. 

Example  No.  1975  is  a  pair  of  snowshoe  models.     Frames  rounded 

•Mackenzie,  "Voyages  from  Montreal  through  the  Continent  of  North  America," 
Philadelphia,  1802,  p.  cxx. 
"Compare  figures  of  carrying  baskets  from  Japan  and  figure  92. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  397 

in  cross  section,  toe  rounded  and  slightly  curved  up;  long,  broadened 
heel,  terminating  in  short,  sharp  point.  Toe  and  heel  netting  of 
babiche,  or  fine  line  cut  from  deer  hide.  Foot  netting  of  rawhide  thong, 
painted  red  by  rubbing  with  earth  and  ornamented  with  beads.  Length, 
L'l  inches;  width,  4f ;  collected  on  the  Yukon  River  from  the  Koyukon 
Indians  (Athapascan)  by  B.  R.  Ross  and  W.  L.  Hardisty.  Example 
No.  5569  from  the  Koyukon,  collected  by  W.  H.  Dall,  differs  little  from 
the  above. 

Examples  Nos.  7470  and  7471  are  snowshoe  models  from  the 
Kutchin  Indians,  Fort  Anderson,  northern  Canada,  collected  by  R. 
MacFarlaue.  Frame  rounded  in  cross  section;  toe  round  pointed, 
sharply  curved  up;  broad  heel,  terminating  in  sharp,  short  point.  Net- 
ting of  babiche,  close  and  fine,  rove  through  frame.  Foot  net  of  babiche, 
but  coarser  and  more  open.  The  frames  are  painted  and  the  netting  is 
ornamented  with  bead  work  in  blue,  red,  and  black.  Length,  33  inches; 
width,  9.  Especial  attention  is  asked  to  the  fact  that  east  of  the  Yukon 
drainage  the  foot  netting  changes  and  becomes  like  that  of  the  toe  and 
the  heel  space,  while  those  already  described  have  the  foot  netting  like 
the  Eskimo  and  Aino  types. 

Kxample  No.  1330  is  a  pair  of  snowshoe  models  from  the  Kutchiii 
Indians,  on  the  Yukon  River,  collected  by  Robert  Kennicott.  The 
frame  is  rounded  in  cross  section.  Toe  rounded  and  slightly  curved 
up;  heel  abruptly  tapered  from  a  short  crossbar.  Toe  and  heel  net- 
ting of  babiche,  close  and  fine.  Painted  and  ornamented  with  line  of 
blue  and  red  beads  in  middle  of  toe  and  heel  netting.  Length,  29£ 
inches;  width,  5i.  Another  example,  No.  89U,  from  Peels  River,  col- 
lected by  R.  Kennicott  and  C.  P.  Gaudet,  possesses  the  same  characters. 

Example  No.  877  is  a  pair  of  snowshoes  from  La  Pierre  House,  Rocky 
Mountains.  Frames  rounded  in  section ;  toes  round  and  strongly  turned 
up;  heel  terminating  abruptly  from  short  crossbar.  Toe  and  heel  net- 
ting of  babiche,  closely  woven ;  foot  netting  of  rawhide  rove  through 
frame  and  about  the  crossbars;  they  are  rights  and  lefts;  collected 
by  Robert  Kenuicott.  They  are  worn  by  the  Loucheux  Indians,  of 
Canada.  None  of  these  people  use  the  voyageur  pointed  shoe.  Accord- 
ing to  Kennicott  the  small  amount  of  underbrush  in  the  woods  renders 
the  pointed  shoe  unnecessary.  The  type  of  snowshoes  is  essentially 
Athapascan.  They  are  found  in  Alaska,  inland  all  around  the  coast, 
but  they  are  essentially  Indian,  though  found  with  Chilkats  or  with 
Eskimo  on  the  Yukon  or  at  Point  Barrow.  The  framework  is  not  of 
driftwood,  but  of  alder,  birch,  or  willow,  cut  green  and  seasoned  into 
shape.  Kadi  frame  is  in  two  parts,  rounded  and  spliced  at  the  toe, 
pointed  at  the  heel  and  held  into  form  by  flat  oval  crossbars  let  into 
the  sides.  The  number  of  bars  varies,  and  it  is  quite  common  to  notice 
a  short  bar  near  the  heel  let  into  a  gash  or  "saw  cut,"  at  which  point 
the  frames  are  abruptly  bent  toward  ea«h  other.  The  amount  of 
npcurveat  the  toe  varie»  ^leatlv.  In  some  localities  the  shoe  is  nearly 


398  REPORT    OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

flat,  in  others  the  toe  stands  up  more  than  6  inches.  The  cross  section 
is  well  noted  by  Murdoch,  being  an  elongated  ellipse  standing  verti 
cally,  with  the  middle  of  the  inner  side  angular  or  keeled  to  admit  of 
the  vertical  perforations  through  which  is  rove  and  knotted  the  line  or 
thread  on  which  the  netting  is  built  up.  Of  the  netting  of  these  shoes 
the  toe  and  heel  fabric  is  similar  in  all.  The  foot  webbing  is  partly 
Eskimo  or  Asiatic,  and  partly  of  Southern  type.  The  reason  is  plain. 
The  thinner  the  shoe  sole,  the  finer  the  webbing  must  be.  The  moc- 
casin is  the  occasion  of  the  finer  and  finer  web  of  the  South  under  the 
foot.  The  material  in  some  examples  is  of  sinew  thread  or  twine,  in 
others  of  babiche  or  finely  cut  deerskin  dressed.  In  those  areas  where 
the  deerskin  is  not  depilated  the  sinew  thread  is  used. 

Snowshoes  in  the  Barren  Ground  country  of  Canada  are  made  of 
birch  wood  and  babiche.  The  former  is  cut  wherever  and  whenever 
opportunity  offers,  the  trapper  never  losing  a  good  specimen.  The 
wood  is  worked  into  shape  at  leisure.  The  babiche  is  cut  by  the  women, 
who  spend  their  leisure  thereat,  very  much  as  our  women  do  at  knitting. 

C.  W.  Whitney,  in  Harper's  Magazine,  figures  a  pair  of  snowshoes 
from  the  Saskatchewan,1  which  are  a  compromise  at  the  toe  between 
the  Athapascan  round  toe  and  the  Hudson  Bay  sharp  toe. 

The  carriers  on  Stuart  Lake,  British  Columbia,  are  Athapascans,  and 
are  said  by  Father  Morice  to  have  four  styles  of  snowshoes  (aih)  under 
different  names, 

(1)  Khe  la  pas  (moccasin  end  rounded).    Frame  in  one  piece,  pointed 
oval,  long  with  trailer,  similar  to  the  Algonquian  and  Iroquoian  shoes 
about  Quebec  and  Montreal ;  the  frame  of  Douglas  pine  (P.  murrayana), 
mountain  maple  (Acer  glabrum),  or  mountain  ash  (Pyrus  americana). 
Cross  sticks  of  willow  or  birch,  fine  lacing  of  caribou  babiche,  foot 
lacing  of  moose-hide  thong. 

(2)  Let'lu  (stitched  together).    This  is  the  voyageur  and  the  typical 
Sioux  snowshoe.     Frame  in  two  pieces,  turned  up  in  front,  pointed  at 
both  ends,  additional  crosspieces  used,  and  a  line  from  the  toe  to  the 
long  crossbar.     The  frame  is  bent  by  wrapping  strips  of  willow  bark 
around  it  and  heating,  by  cooking  it  in  boiling  water,  or  by  pouring  boil 
ing  water  on  it. 

(3)  Aih  za  (snowshoe  only).     Frame  of  two  pieces,  spliced,  rounded 
and  turned  up  in  front;   crossbars,  two.     In  fact,  it  is  the  typical 
Athapascan  shoe  of  the  North,  more  commonly  used  than  the  others. 

(4)  Seskhe  (black  bear  foot).    Frame  of  a  single  hoop  spliced  at  the 
heel,  elliptical,  crossbar  inserted  into  a  hole  through  either  side.     In 
this  shoe  the  elements  of  weaving  are  reproduced  with  coarse  thong  in 
a  clumsy  manner.2 

Father  Morice  asserts  that  the  double-pointed  snowshoe  was  little 
known  among  the  Tacullies,  or  Carriers,  until  thirty  or  forty  years  ago. 


1  New  York,  1895,  xcn,  pp.  10, 364. 

-Morice,  Traps.  Canadian  lust.,  1894,  iv,  j>p.  152-155,  figs.  141-145. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


399 


but  they  were  worn  by  the  Tse'keh  ne  from  time  immemorial.  He  also 
says  that  before  Mackenzie  (179.'?)  snowshoes  were  unknown  in  the 
western  Dene  country,  except  among  the  Sekanais  and  Xah'anes.1 

From  Point  Barrow  around  to  Bristol  Bay,  as  has  been  seen,  the 
Eskimo  wears  Indian  snowshoes.  The  same  is  true  of  the  1C  a  stern 
Eskimo,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  Turner  collection. 

Of  the  Cumberland  Gulf  Eskimo,  Kumlien  says  that  in  traveling  over 
the  frozen  wastes  in  winter  they  use  snowshoes.  These  are  half-moon 
shaped,  by  which  is  meant  that  they  are  asymmetrical,  or  rights  and 
lefts,  and  made  of  whalebone;  that  is,  the  bones  of  the  whale,  not 
baleen,  with  seal-thongs  drawn  tightly  across.  They  are  16  inches  long. 
Another  pattern  is  merely  a 
frame  of  wood,  about  the  same 
length  and  8  or  10  inches  wide, 
with  sealskin  thongs  for  the  feet 
to  rest  on.2  This  form  associates 
itself  with  the  rude  types  about 
Bering  Strait. 

Turner  describes  five  varieties 
of  snowshoes  about  Ungava,but 
reduces  the  forms  to  four:  (1) 
Swallow  tail,  with  tail  or  trailer ; 
(2)  beaver  tail,  kite  shaped, 
with  nipple-like  projection  be- 
hind; (3)  round  end  kite  shaped, 
without  trailer;  (4)  single  bar, 
frame  oval,  crossbar  in  front. 
The  single  bar  specimens  have 
also  round  end.  Of  these  there 
are  two  varieties,  that  in  which 
the  crossbar  comes  in  the  mid 
die  of  the  foot  and  that  in  which 
it  is  in  front  of  the  toes  (tig.  84). 

I  n  addition  to  these  there  comes 
from  Little  Whale  River  a  snow 
shoe  of  spruce  wtfod,  No.  9014"),  IT.  S.  National  Museum  (fig.  85).  It  is 
shaped  like  the  single  bar  or  round  end  pattern  and  looks  as  though 
it  might  have  been  cut  out  of  a  toboggan  or  flat  sledge,  common  in  all 
Canada.  Two  pieces  of  thin  board  are  fitted  together  along  their  mar- 
gins and  sewed  together  with  thong.  Across  them  near  the  front  and 
the  rear  a  batten  is  sewed  by  a  continuation  of  buttonhole  stitches  or 
half  hitches.  Just  behind  the  front  batten  is  the  hole  for  giving  free 
action  and  grip  to  the  toes.  In  use  the  shoe  is  turned  smooth  side 
down  and  battens  up.  Turner  says  that  this  variety  is  used  on  sott 


Fig.  84. 

NETTED  SNOW8HOE,  SINGLE  BAB,  WORN  BY  THE  NENENOT 
INDIANS,  LABRADOR. 

From  H  figure  in  tlw  Klrventh  Annual  Iteport  of  the  Bureau  of  Kthimlciiy. 
Cat.  No.  90023,  IT.  S.  N.  M. 


1  Proc.  Canadian  Inst.  (Series  3),  vn,  p.  i::i. 
«Bull.  U.  8.  Nat;.  MUB.,  No.  15,   1879,  p.  4J?. 


400 


REPORT    OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1894. 


snow.  In  the  spring  the  netted  shoe  becomes  clogged.  These  may  be 
made  in  a  few  hours,  while  the  ne'ted  shoe  requires  several  days  of 
arduous  labor.1 

The  reader  must  look  in  the  hyperborean  region  of  the  Old  World 
for  the  skee  or  snowshoe  made  of  boards. 

Example  No.  90151  is  a  pair  of  snowshoes  from  Ungava,  Canada, 
collected  by  Lucien  M.  Turner  (fig.  86).  In  the  specimen  here  studied, 
two  staves  of  pine,  whittled  into  rectangular  cross  section,  were  spliced 
in  front  and  bent  into  a  kite  shape,  with  somewhat  square  body  and 
three  rounded  corners.  At  the  fourth  or  hinder  corner  or  heel  the  ends, 


Fig.  85. 


WOODEN  SNOWSHOE  WORN   HV  THE  INDIANS  OF  LITTLE   WHALE  KIVER.   LABKADOU. 

From  H  figure  in  the  Eleventh  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Kthnology.. 
Collected  hy  L.  M.  Turner. 


instead  of  being  spliced,  are  pushed  outward  to  form  a  tail,  or  trailer, 
and  sewed  together  through  countersunk  holes.  This  framework  is 
not  of  uniform  thickness,  but  is  thickest  at  the  sides,  somewhat  smaller 
at  the  toe,  and  much  thinner  at  the  trailer.  There  are  two  crossbars 
mortised  or  let  into  the  frame,  flat  oval  in  section  and  curved  outward 
from  the  foot  slightly.  This  specimen,  like  all  others  in  Mr.  Turner's 
collection,  lies  flat  on  the  ground.2 


1  Eleventh  Ann.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  p.  312. 

"For  the  detail,  Qf.  Murdoch,  Ninth  Ann.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


401 


The  babiche  netting  of  toe  and  heel  is  attached  by  regular  hexagonal 
weaving  to  a  border  cord  which  is  rove  through  the  frame  and  obscured 
in  countersunk  cavities  on  the  outside.  Along  the  crossbars  the  toe 
and  foot  netting  are  laced  into  a  border  cord  laid  under  the  loops  of 
the  foot  netting,  excepting  in  front  of  the  foot  space  where  the  border 
cord  is  rove  through  the  crossbar.  The  netting  of  the  foot  space  is 
woven  hexagonally  out  of  coarser  babiche.  Especially  noteworthy  is 
the  tough  band  of  hide  forming  the  front  border  of  this  network,  pass- 
ing straight  from  either  side  of  the  frame  to  the  foot  space,  where  it  is 
curved  backward  and  held  in  form  by  stout  bracings  of  hide.  Under 
the  toes  it  is  sewed  with 
balm-he.  On  the  right  and 
left  margins  the  network 
does  not  pass  entirely  out- 
ward to  a  border  cord  rove 
through  the  frame,  but  the 
bends  make  double  loops 
about  the  frame  at  each  ex- 
cursion and  are  gathered 
into  a  straight  selvage. 
This  central  web  is  also 
looped  to  the  crossbars. 
The  shoe  is  attached  to  the 
foot  by  a  soft  band  of  buck- 
skin forming  toe  and  heel 
loop.1 

Example  No.  90149  (fig. 
87)  is  a  pair  of  snowshoes 
collected  in  Ungava,  north 
of  Labrador,  by  Lucien 
Turner.  In  most  particu- 
larsthis  specimen  resembles 
that  last  described,  except- 
ing that  the  width  is  still 
more  disproportionate  to  the 
length  and  near  the  heel  the 
frame  on  either  side  bends 
outward  and  then  sharply  inward,  forming  a  tongue-shaped  end,  and 
quite  aptly  called  a  beaver  tail.  Many  of  the  long,  slender  Athapas- 
can shoes  reverse  the  process  and  near  the  heel  begin  suddenly  to 
narrow.  In  this  example  the  shoe  is  made  of  two  pieces  of  wood  in 
form  of  a  loop  or  oxbow  spliced  together  on  the  sides  of  the  foot  space, 
the  hinder  bow  laid  inside  the  forward  bow  precisely  as  in  the  Aino 
specimen.  The  spliced  portions  are  held  in  position  by  the  loops  of  the 


Fig.  86. 
NETTED  SNOWSHOE,   SWALLOW  TAIL  PATTERN,  WORN  BY  THB 

NENENOT  INDIANS,  LABRADOR. 

From  H  fifure  in  the  Elf  Tenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Kthnolofj. 
Cat.  No.  90151,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  L.  M.  Turner. 


1  Turner,  Eleventh  Ann.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  pi.  xi. 
H.  Mis.  90,  pt.  2 26 


402 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


foot  netting  passing  around  them.  Examples  Nos.  90145  to  90153, 
collected  by  Turner,  are  also  of  the  same  general  form  and  finish.  One 
of  these  is  shown  in  fig.  88.  They  are  from  Ungava,  and  were  used, 
as  were  the  others  just  described,  by  the  Nenenot.  In  these  examples 
the  frames  are  made  in  one  piece,  spliced  at  the  side  of  the  foot  space 
and  held  fast  by  the  loops  of  the  .netting  which  encircle  it. 

In  all  of  the  specimens  gathered  by  Lucien  M.  Turner  the  mechan- 
ical work  is  excellent.  The  babiche  is  very  white  and  clean  and  uniform 
in  each  space.  The  attractiveness  is  in  the  uniformity.  ]STo.  90022  (fig. 
89)  is  called  by  its  collector  a  single-bar  snowshoe.  The  frame  is  of 

a  single  piece  of  wood. 
For  these  birch  is  preferred, 
but  spruce  and  larch  are 
generally  used.  The  frame- 
work is  rectangular  in  cross 
section,  with  rounded  cor- 
ners. The  crossbar  is  a 
wide  piece  of  wood  mor- 
tised at  its  ends  into  the 
framework  and  rounded  up 
along  its  middle.  Foureye- 
lets  are  worked  in  the  tex- 
ture for  the  lacing.  The 
arch  of  the  foot  of  the  walker 
rests  on  the  bar.  This  is  a 
novel  idea  in  American 
snowshoes. 

Example  No.  90023,  as  in 
fig.  84,  is  another  type  of 
Nenenot  single-bar  snow- 
shoe  collected  by  Mr.  Tur- 
ner. The  framework  is  of 
two  pieces  spliced  at  the 
front  and  rear.  The  cross- 
bar is  mortised  into  the 
frame  near  enough  toward 
the  front  to  allow  the  foot 
to  rest  on  the  network  in  the  middle  of  the  shoe.  It  will  be  noticed  by 
the  drawing  that  the  lacing  of  deerhide  thong  is  rove  through  the 
frame  in  front  and  looped  around  the  frame  in  the  rear  portion,  which 
is  both  foot  space  ami  heel  space.  The  Eskimo  name  for  the  round 
shoe  is  ablakatautik. 

The  Montagnais  of  Labrador  wear  clothing  of  tawed  deerskin.  As 
nearly  all  the  skins  of  the  reindeer  are  used  for  garments,  the  northern 
stations  about  Fort  (Jhimo  furnish  great  numbers  of  these  skins  in  the 


Fig.  87. 

NETTED  8NOW8HOK,  BEAVER  TAIL  PATTERN,  WORNBYTHENENE- 

NOT  INDIANS,  LABRADOR. 

From  a  figure  in  the  Eleventh  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 
Cat.  No.  90149,  -17.  S.  N.  M. 


EXPLANATION    OF    PLATE    17. 


NETTED    SNOWSHOES. 

Fig.  1.  MODERN  ELLIPTICAL  FORM  USED  BY  HUNTERS  IN  THE  ADIRONDACKS. 
Broad,  short  type.  The  frame  is  of  one  piece  of  squared  and  tapered 
wood.  bent.  It  is  spliced  and  lashed  with  rawhide  at  the  heel,  perfectly 
flat,  slightly  oval,  and  has  two  broad  crossbars  let  into  the  frame.  There 
are  110  perforations  in  the  frame,  but  eight  holes  are  bored  through  the 
front  crossbar  for  the  twisted  thongs  that  support  the  footing.  The  foot 
space  occupies  nearly  all  the  interior,  the  front  and  the  rear  space  being 
insignificant. 

The  netting  is  of  tough  rawhide  in  hexagonal  weaving,  the  thong 
being  fastened  at  each  round  by  a  loose  knot  or  double  half  hitch 
around  the  frame,  crossbar,  or  footing.  The  thong  is  rove  through 
the  front  crosspiece,  and  twined  between  it  and  the  footing.  The  shoe 
is  fastened  on  with  buckled  bands  and  straps.  Collection  of  Maj. 
Charles  Bendire,  U.  S.  A. 
(Cat.  No.  126839,  U.  S.  N.  M.) 

Fig.  2.  NETTED  SNOWSHOE  OF  ALGONQUIAN  INDIANS  OF  NORTHERN  LABRADOR 
AND  UNGAVA.  Broad,  oval  type.  The  frame  is  of  one  piece  of  squared 
and  tapered  wood,  bent,  spliced,  and  lashed  together  at  the  side,  per- 
fectly flat,  oval  or  kite  shaped,  having  two  stout,  curved  crossbars  let 
into  the  frame.  The  curves  are  set  to  take  the  strain  of  the  foot  netting. 
There  are  V-shaped  perforations  in  the  frame  around  the  front  and  rear 
spaces,  and  three  holes  are  bored  through  the  front  crosspiece  over 
against  the  footing. 

The  lacing  is  of  very  fine  babiche  or  deerskin  thong,  woven  in  hexag- 
onal pattern  over  a  selvage  thong,  knotted  into  the  V-shaped  holes 
continuously  about  the  frame,  and  caught  under  the  foot-space  loops 
along  the  crosspieces.  The  netting  of  the  central  space  is  caught  around 
the  frame  and  crossbars  by  double  half  hitches,  as  in  the  foregoing  speci- 
men, but  also  neatly  looped  about  the  footing  thong.  This  example  is 
fastened  to  the  foot  by  a  soft  buckskin  thong.  Collected  by  Lucien 
M.  Turner. 

(Cat.  No.  90147,  U.  S.  N.  M.) 


Repoit  of  National  Museum,  1894.-  Mason. 


PLATE  17. 


NETTED  SNOWSHOES. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


403 


parchment  condition  to  be  purchased  by  the  mountaineers,  who  cut  them 
into  fine  lines  for  snowshoe  netting  and  other  purposes.1 

Mr.  Henry  G.  Bryant,  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  brought 
from  the  interior  of  Labrador  a  pair  of  Montagnais  snowshoes  almost 
circular,  conforming  to  the  pattern  of  those  figured  by  Turner.  There 
are  two  strong  braces  and  a  short  trailer. 

In  this  same  connection  should  be  introduced  a  modern  snowshoe, 
example  No.  126839  (pi.  17,  figs.  1  and  2),  collected  in  the  Adirondacks 
by  Major  C.  E.  Bendire,  U.  S.  A.  The  frame  is  of  hard  wood,  probably 
oak,  bent  interval  form,  a  little  wider  in  front,  and  spliced  at  the  heel 
by  a  series  of  half  hitches. 
It  lies  flat  on  the  ground,  as 
in  theNenenot  examples  from 
Uugava.  The  crossbars  are- 
very  near  the  toe  and  the  heel, 
and  thereisno  attempt  at  net- 
ting. The  netting  of  the  foot 
space  is  of  the  best  rawhide 
laid  on  by  hexagonal  weav- 
ing, as  in  all  the  other  speci- 
mens from  Canada.  The  net- 
ting is  not  worked  about  the 
space  for  the  toes,butthe  stout 
thong  of  the  foot-rest  passes 
straight  across  and  is  sus 
tained  by  continuing  the  diag- 
onal filaments  of  the  network 
and  reeving  them  through  the 
crossbar.  At  the  heel  they 
form  double  loops  about  the 
crossbar,  and  at  the  side  the 
fastening  is  by  half  hitches. 
The  foot  is  held  in  place  by 
a  leather  band  with  buckles, 
an  adjustable  strap  passing 
around  the  heel.  The  principle  of  attachment  is  the  same  everywhere. 

According  to  Lewis  H.  Morgan,  the  Iroquois  wore  a  wide  snowshoe, 
as  will  appear  in  the  following  description : 

The  suowshoe,  ga-weh-ga,  is  nearly  3  feet  in  length  by  about  16 
inches  in  width.  A  rim  of  hickory,  bent  round  with  an  arching  front, 
and  brought  to  a  point  at  the  heel,  constituted  the  frame,  with  the 
addition  of  crosspieces  to  determine  its  spread.  Within  the  area,  with 
the  exception  of  an  opening  for  the  toe,  was  woven  a  network  of  deer- 
skin strings,  with  interstices  about  an  inch  square.  The  ball  of  the 


Fig.  88. 

NETTED    SNOWSHOE,    KODND    END,    WORN   BY  THE   NKNENOT 

INDIANS,  LABRADOB. 

From  a  figure  in  the  Klerenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ktnnolou. 
Cut  No.  90147,  U.  S.  N.  M. 


1  Turner,  Eleventh  Ann.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  p.  181. 


404 


REPORT    OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


foot  was  lashed  at  the  edge  of  this  opening  with  thongs  which  passed 
also  around  the  heel  for  the  support  of  the  foot.  The  heel  was  left  free  to 
work  up  and  down,  and  the  opening  was  designed  to  allow  the  toes  of  the 
foot  to  descend  below  the  surface  of  the  shoe,  as  the  heel  is  raised  in 
the  act  of  walking.  It  is  a  very  simple  invention,  but  exactly  adapted 
for  its  uses.  A  person  familiar  with  the  snowshoe  can  walk  as  rapidly 
with  it  on  the  snow  as  without  it  upon  the  ground.  The  Senecas  affirm 
that  they  can  walk  50  miles  per  day  upon  suowshoes,  and  with  much 
greater  rapidity  than  without  them,  in  consequence  of  the  length  and 
uniformity  of  the  step.  In  the  bear  hunt,  especially,  it  is  of  the  greatest 

service,  as  the  hunter  can 
speedily  overtake  the  bear, 
who,  breaking  through  the 
crust,  is  enabled  to  move  but 
slowly.1 

Examples  Nos.  24788  (pi. 
18)  and  24789  are  modern 
snowshoes  used  by  hunters 
and  trappers  of  St.  Law- 
rence Valley  and  manufac- 
tured by  Renfrew  &  Co.,  of 
Quebec.  The  frame  is  made 
of  a  single  stave  of  hickory, 
rectangular  in  cross  section. 
The  two  braces  are  of  beech 
or  oak.  In  form  the  shoe  is 
elongated,  kite-shaped,  with 
a  trailer  9  inches  long.  It 
is  broad  across  the  middle, 
bluntly  rounded  at  the  toe, 
and  slightly  curved  up.  The 
netting  is  said  to  be  of  the 
stripped  and  untwisted 
sinew  of  the  Caribou  (Ran- 
gifer  tarandus).  The  foot 
netting  is  looped  about  the 
frame  at  the  sides  and  passes  about  the  braces  by  single  turns.  At 
the  distance  of  an  inch  or  more  from  the  framework  there  is  a  selvage 
where  the  weaving  commences,  and  outside  of  this  the  filaments  are 
twined  and  act  as  a  series  of  slings.  The  same  is  true  of  the  toe  and 
heel  netting.  There  is  first  a  border  cord  rove  through  a  series  of 
double  holes  in  the  frame,  countersunk  on  the  outside,  but  not  so  well 
concealed  as  in  the  old  voyageur  specimen.  This  border  cord  passes 
along  the  outer  margin  of  the  crossbars,  between  the  wood  and  the 
loops  of  the  foot  netting.  Indeed,  both  sets  of  network  hang  on  this 


Tig.  89. 

NETTED   SNOWSHOE  WITH  CENTRAL  BAB,  WORN  BY  THE  NENE- 

NOT  INDIANS,  LABRADOR. 

From  a  figure  in  the  Eleventh  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology 
Oat.  No.  90022,  U.  S.  N.TM. 


1  Lewis  H.  Morgan,  "Le&gue  of  the  Iroquois,"  1851,  pp.  376-377. 


EXPLANATION    OF    PLATE     18. 
MODERN  CLUB  SNOWSHOES  FROM  MONTREAL. 

The  frame  is  of  one  piece  of  squared  and  tapered  wood,  bent  at  the  toe,  and 
united  at  the  heel  by  a  thong  rove  through  two  perforations,  quite  flat,  abruptly 
rounded  at  the  toe,  with  two  crossbars  let  into  the  frame.  The  perforations  in 
the  frame  are  V-shaped,  but  in  the  front  crossbar  three  holes  are  bored  for  the 
netting  thong  or  selvage. 

The  netting  is  of  fine  rawhide  thong,  woven  hexagonally  about  the  knotted 
thong  or  about  the  framework.  The  netting  does  not  in  any  one  of  the  spaces 
reach  the  woodwork,  but  at  the  end  of  each  excursion  the  filament  is  twisted  a 
definite  number  of  times.  The  edge  of  the  woven  space  is  afterwards  whipped 
around  with  a  separate  thong.  This  makes  a  neat  and  pretty  ornament.  Gift  of 
Renfrew  and  Company,  manufacturers. 

(Cat.  No.  247H8,  U.  S.  N.  M.) 


Report  of  National  Museum,  1894.  — Mason. 


PLATE  18 


MODERN  CLUB  SNOWSHOES. 
Montreal,  Canada. 


EXPLANATION    OF    PLATE    19. 
NETTED  SNOWSHOES. 

This  is  an  old  pair  found  in  the  Varderi  collection,  United  States  Patent  Office. 
The  frame  is  of  one  piece  of  squared,  and  tapered  wood,  bent,  and  joined  at  the  heel, 
forming  a  short  trailer.  It  is  quite  flat,  and  is  provided  with  two  crosspieces  let  int<  > 
the  frame.  The  perforations  in  the  frame  for  the  selvage  thong  of  the  netting,  are 
V-shaped,  and.  as  in  all  the  other  examples,  they  meet  a  little  way  within  the  outer 
side  of  the  frame,  so  that  the  bend  in  the  thong  is  countersunk  or  concealed.  There 
are  no  holes  at  all  about  the  central  space,  hence  this  was  a  very  strong  shoe. 

The  netting  is  ail  of  buckskin  thong,  thicker  in  the  foot  space.  The  weaving  is 
done  immediately  through  the  selvage  thong  about  the  frames,  but  it  is  twisted 
and  looped  around  an  additional  thong  athwart  the  crosspieces.  On  the  hinder 
bar  this  added  thong  is  caught winder  the  double  ends  of  the  central  space  weaving, 
and  furthermore  is  held  in  place  by  an  extra  winding  of  thong. 

The  netting  of  the  central  space  is  looped  about  the  frame  and  crossbars  by  a 
curious  knot,  consisting  of  a  half  hitch,  and  a  plain  wrap  instead  of  the  conven- 
tional loop  knot.  (See  plate  IS.  fig.  1.  rear  crossbar.)  The  cross  thongs  that  form 
the  footing  are  swung  to  the  front  crossbar  by  six  stout  thongs,  doubled  twice,  and 
neatly  wrapped  with  the  same.  Instead  of  perforations  in  the  front  crossbar,  ;i 
stout  thong  is  wrapped  about  the  middle,  to  hold  the  front  netting  and  prevent 
abrasion  by  the  moccasin. 

Canada.     Collected  by  ,1.  Yarden. 

(Cat.  Xos.  1755,  175T>,  II  K.  X.  M. ) 


Report  of  National  Museum,  1894.  — Mason. 


PLATE  19. 


^SH& 


mtmniiitiiitni 


NETTED  SNOWSHOES. 

( 'aiiucla. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION.  405 

cord.  At  the  ends  of  the  crossbars  and  in  the  middle  of  the  front  bar 
the  cord  is  rove  through  and  knotted  with  a  single  tie. 

The  footband  is  a  broad  strap  of  soft  buckskin,  under  which  the  toe 
of  the  moccasin  passes.  The  ends  of  this  band  pass  through  eyelets 
worked  in  the  netting  and  then  are  laced  about  the  heel  and  ankle. 
These  eyelets  appear  on  one  of  Turner's  single-bar  snowshoes  from 
Ungava.  Length,  42  inches;  width,  12£  inches.  Other  examples  of 
this  type  in  the  National  Museum  are  Nos.  1755  and  1756  in  the  collec- 
tion of  the  National  Institute,  and  No.  18826  from  the  St.  Regis  Iroquois 
Reservation,  New  York  (pi.  19). 

The  Cree  Indians  around  Winnipeg,  on  the  authority  of  Dr.  E.  R. 
Young,  have  two  or  three  pairs  of  suowshoes  each.  They  are  of  the 
turned-up  and  pointed  variety,  formed  of  two  pieces.  One  pair  is  made 
just  the  height  of  the  man.  These  are  for  long  journeys  after  deer,  etc. 
The  hunter  will  carry  in  his  hand  a  long  pole,  to  the  end  of  which  is 
lashed  his  hunting  knife,  and  when  lie  runs  down  the  game  he  soon  dis- 
patches it  with  his  extemporized  lance.  Another  pair  of  snowshoes 
is  used  for  home  hunting,  and  the  third  pair  around  his  home.  The 
women  do  not  wear  a  different  shoe  from  the  men.  The  shoes  are 
rights  and  lefts. 

Example  No.  73308  in  the  National  Museum,  in  the  Catlin  collection, 
is  of  the  same  type. 

Two  of  the  oldest  and  most  interesting  specimens  of  snowshoes  in 
the  National  Museum  from  the  Algonquian  are  Nos.  1755  aud  1756, 
above-mentioned.  The  frame  is  rectangular  in  the  cross  sections,  and 
consists  of  a  single  piece,  smallest  at  the  toe,  widening  and  thickening 
toward  the  foot  rest,  and  tapering  again  toward  the  trail.  There  are 
three  crossbars,  one  small  one  in  front  and  two  rounded  sticks  border- 
ing the  foot  space.  The  netting  of  the  toe  and  heel  space  is  in  hexag- 
onal weaving  attached  all  round  by  a  series  of  loops  rove  through  the 
frame  on  the  sides  and  caught  under  the  lashing  of  the  foot  space  along 
the  crossbars.  This  weaving  is  made  of  very  finely  cut  deerskin  (or 
babiche)  woven  with  great  care.  The  netting  of  the  foot  space  is  of 
coarser  babiche,  and  passes  around  the  crosspieces  and  the  frame  on  the 
outside.  The  hexagonal  weaving  and  the  strong  rawhide  piece  on  which 
the  ball  of  the  foot  rests  are  all  swung  from  the  frame  by  a  twine  an 
inch  long  on  the  sides,  and  in  front  3  inches  long,  the  front  lines  being 
also  wrapped  or  marled  with  rawhide.  The  knots  by  which  the  foot 
netting  is  attached  to  the  frame  on  the  sides  are  called  the  clove  hitch, 
and  along  the  front  foot  bar  the  knots  are  fastened  off  with  half  hitches. 
The  small  line  to  which  the  front  netting  is  attached,  and  also  the  cross 
line  which  forms  the  sling  of  the  foot  netting,  in  passing  from  one  knot 
to  another  is  fastened  down  with  what  sailors  call  the  marline  hitch. 
Around  the  border  of  the  foot  netting — in  order  to  strengthen  it — there 
is  an  additional  twining  or  wrapping  of  babiche  to  keep  the  meshes  in 
place. 


406 


REPORT  OF  NATIONAL  MUSEUM,  1394. 


Examples  Nos.  19116  to  19119  are  modern  snowsboes  made  in  Mar- 
quette,  Mich.,  and  given  to  the  National  Museum  by  T.  Meads.     A  pair 

of  these  is  shown  in  pi.  20.  They  repre- 
sent the  western  Canadian  idea  of  perfec- 
tion as  the  Renfrew  examples  do  the 
eastern.  The  frame  is  rectangular,  flat, 
squared  in  front  and  cut  a  little  thicker 
in  the  middle  of  the  front.  They  are  wide 
in  the  middle,  taper  more  abruptly  than 
the  eastern  specimens  and  have  not  such 
long  trailers.  Furthermore,  the  babiche 
is  finer  and  the  netting  goes  snug  up  to 
the  frame  everywhere  excepting  the  front 
and  hinder  margin  of  the  foot  net.  The 
square-toed  snowshoe  is  geographically 
located  south  of  the  double-pointed  voy- 
ageur  type  and  west  of  the  flat,  round  front 
type.  It  is  the  snowshoe  of  the  Western 
lakes.  Examples  in  the  Museum  are  Nos. 
73307-73310,  Catlin  collection,  possibly 
Chippewa  No.  2651  from  the  War  Depart- 
ment, no  tribe  given;  and  Nos.  154369- 
154371  collected  among  the  Menimonee  by 
Dr.  W.  J.  Hoffman. 

In  Glen  Island  Museum  of  Natural  His- 
tory, New  York,  are  exhibited  Nick  S  toner's 
snowshoes,  of  the  double-pointed  type. 
They  are  square  in  cross  section,turned  up 
in  front,  the  two  pieces  riveted  together 
with  iron.  There  are  two  crossbars,  no  toe 
and  heel  netting,  and  the  rawhide  lacing 
is  wrapped  around  frame  and  crosspieces. 
Again  and  again  it  was  said,  when  study- 
ing the  Mackenzie  River  suowshoe,  that 
the  voyageurs  and  white  agents  of  the 
Hudson  Bay,  while  they  walked  on  the 
round-ended  shoe,  preferred  these  sharp 
at  the  ends  for  tripping.  In  Catlin's  pic- 
tures (Smithsonian  Report  1883,  II,  pi. 
99),  this  pointed  shoe  occurs  with  Siouan 
label.  Indeed,  this  variety  may  be  called 
temporarily  the  Siouan  type  (fig.  90).  It 
is  an  exalted  form  of  the  Chukchi  type, 
consisting  in  this  case  of  the  outer  frame 
of  two  pieces  square  in  cross  section,  irregularly  lenticular  in  outline 
and  turned  up  at  both  ends  and  resembles  that  of  the  Tsekehne. 


I'ig.  90. 
NETTED    SNOWSHOE,    POINTED    AT    BOTH 

ENDS,  PKOBABLY  SIODX. 

Cat.  No.  2730,  U.  8.  N.  H      Colln-teil  by  the  War 

Department. 


EXPLANATION    OF    PLATE    20. 
MODERN  NETTED  SNOWSHOES. 

The  frame  is  of  one  piece  of  squared  and  tapered  wood,  cut  in  ogee  curve  on  the 
inside  of  the  toe.  It  is  bent  almost  square  in  front,  and  joined  together  at  the  heel 
with  a  short  trailer:  flat,  somewhat  short  and  broad,  and  having  two  crossbars  set 
well  front  and  back.  The  front  and  rear  netting  is  very  light,  and  is  attached  to 
the  knotted  selvage  thong  in  the  usual  way.  The  ingenuity  of  the  maker  has 
exhausted  itself  on  the  long  central  space.  The  noteworthy  features  are: 

(1)  The  hexagonal  weaving  in  stout  thong. 

(2)  The  double  loop  knots  about  the  frame. 

(3)  The  single  loops  about  the  crosspieces,  inclosing  at  the  same  time  the  selvage 
thong  of  the  front  and  rear  netting,  and  the  long  twisted  ends  that  form  these 
loops. 

(4)  The  quadruple  cross  thong  for  the  footing. 

(5)  The  neat  slings  holding  the  footing  to  the  front  crossbar. 

(6)  The  absence  of  holes  in  the  wood  anywhere  about  the  middle  space. 

The  ornamentation  on  the  outside  is  formed  by  tufts  of  different-colored  yarns, 
caught  under  the  knots  in  the  selvage  thong  where  it  is  tied  through  the  frame. 
Grand  Rapids.  Mich.     Gift  of  Mead  and  Company,  manufacturers. 
(Cat.  Nos.  19116-19119,  U.  S.  N.  M. ) 


Report  of  National  Museum,  1894.  — Mason. 


PLATE  20. 


MODERN  NETTED  SNOWSHOES. 

Grand  Rapids,  Michigan. 


EXPLANATION     OF    PLATE    21. 
RUDE  SNOWSHOES. 

These  are  old  specimens  from  the  western  territories.  The  frames,  the  breadth 
of  which  is  greater  than  the  length,  are  made  of  rough  poles,  skinned,  spliced,  and 
clumsily  wrapped  at  the  front.  There  are  no  crosspieces  nor  perforations.  The 
entire  interior  is  like  the  central  space  of  the  Alaskan  ruder  forms,  and  must  be 
so  studied.  The  foot  rest  is  at  the  front,  made  by  doubling  and  twisting  the  thong. 
It  is  qtiite  possible  that  long  handling  may  have  disturbed  the  radiating  thong. 
The  twist,  which  is  so  beautifully  handled  in  better  specimens,  is  here  in  embryo. 
The  curious  loop  of  single  turn  and  half  hitch  may  be  noted.  Mr.  Eells  describes 
in  the  "American  Antiquarian"  (vol.  x)  precisely  this  form  of  snowshoe  among 
the  Salishan  tribes  from  Puget  Sound  eastward.  Snowshoes  are  also  reported  from 
the  cliff -dwellings  of  the  Mesa  Verde.  Collected  by  the  War  Department. 

(Cat.  No.  2739,  U.  S.  N.  M.) 


Report  of  National  Museum,  1894. — Mason. 


PLATE  21. 


RUDE  SNOWSHOES. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


40T 


No  example  of  snowshoe  is  in  the  National  Museum  from  the  Indians 
of  Alaska,  Canada,  or  the  eastern  United  States  that  was  not  made 
with  metal  tools.  No  remains  of  an  ancient  and  purely  Indian  type 
have  been  recovered.  Therefore,  with  the  utmost  caution,  the  skill  of 
the  tribes  long  associated  with  French  and  English  as  trappers,  should 
be  set  over  against  that  of  others  whose  snowshoes  were  ruder.  The 
very  fine  babiche  is  the  production  of  the  curved  steel  knife,  and  the 
refinement  of  the  snowshoe  seems  to  date  from  its  introduction. 

In  the  western  slopes  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  region,  and  thence  over 
the  Sierras  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  will  be  found  the  most  primitive  types 
of  American  Indian  snowshoes,  and  yet  the  Renfrew,  the  Turner,  and  the 
Meads  examples  are  illuminated  by  these  rude  specimens.  Example 
No.  2729  (pi.  2t )  in  the  National  Museum  is  a  pair  of  suowshoes  collected 
among  the  Utes,  of  Utah,  in  1841,  by  Oapt.  H.  Stansbury,  during  the 


Fig.  91. 

PRIMITIVE  SNOWSHOE,  WORN  BY  THE  KLAMATH  (LUTUAMIAN)  INDIANS  OF  CALIFORNIA. 
C»U  N«i.  24109,  U.  S.  K.  M.     Collected  by  L.  S.  Dyar. 

Rocky  Mountain  exploring  expedition.  The  frame  is  a  bent  pole,  the 
hoop  being  wider  than  long,  the  ends  roughly  spliced  and  lashed  with 
rawhide  in  front.  There  are  no  crossbars,  but  an  intimation  of  structure 
in  the  position  of  the  foot  rest.  The  two  elements  of  the  perfected 
snowshoe,  here  exhibited  in  their  nakedness,  are  the  double  loop  about 
the  frame,  as  in  figure  82,  and  the  twined  thong  acting  as  a  set  of  slings 
for  footing.  The  network  is  a  series  of  half  hitches  made  by  the  thong 
wherever  it  crosses  itself.  The  two  shoes  are  not  even  alike.  Length, 
16£  inches;  width,  20. 

Example  No.  24109  (fig.  91)  is  a  pair  of  snowshoes  collected  on  the 
Klamath  River  Agency,  Oreg.,  by  L.  S.  Dyar,  Indian  agent.  The 
framework  is  a  hoop  made  of  a  pole  and  is  lashed  together  at  the  side 
with  buckskin,  with  very  little  splicing.  The  network  is  all  of  one 
piece  of  rawhide  passed  backward  and  forward,  commencing  at  the 


408 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


lower  right-hand  corner  and  fastened  to  the  hoop,  not  by  a  double 
loop,  but  by  a  half  hitch  and  single  turn  and  then  twined  about  the 
standing  part.  Diameter,  14  inches. 

To  complete  the  western  series  is  example  No.  2728  (fig.  92),  a  very  old 

specimen  marked  "West  coast 
of  America"  and  collected  by  the 
Wilkes  Exploring  Expedition. 
The  frame  is  an  elongated  oval 
and  irregular  hoop  of  pole, 
spliced  and  wrapped  at  the  heel. 
The  two  shoes  are  not  quite  alike 
in  shape.  There  are  no  cross- 
bars, but  three  turns  of  the  raw- 
hide netting  are  served  together 
and  answer  precisely  to  the  rest 
under  the  ball  of  the  foot  in  the 
eastern  specimens.  In  this  speci- 
men may  be  seen  a  rude  and 
primitive  form  of  the  Renfrew 
foot  netting  set  in  a  series  of 
slings  made  of  twined  babiche 
and  caught  around  the  frame 
with  a  half  hitch  and  single- turn 
knot.  In  the  irregular  and  ar- 
tistic spacing  of  the  slings  will 
be  seen  the  foreshadowing  of  the 
open-work  ornamental  lacing  on 
the  elaborate  voyageur  speci- 
men (pi.  16),  which  is  made  in  the 
same  manner,  namely,  by  omit- 
ting the  filaments  that  pass 
straight  across  in  a  triangle  that 
is  longer  than  it  is  wide. 
Mr.  F.  W.  Hodge  says  that  the  Zuni  and  other  pueblo  tribes  make 
an  overshoe  of  goatskin,  worn  over  the  moccasin  in  the  snow,  with  the 
hair  side  out.  Snowshoes  are  also  reported  in  the  clift-dwelliugs. 

SNOWSHOES  IN  THE  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM. 


Fig.  92. 

PRIMITIVE  TJPE  OF  SNOW8HOE  FROM  COLUMBIA  RIVER 
WASHINGTON. 

Cm.  No.  2728,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Wilkes  Exploring  Kxpedition 


M  ii-ciiiii 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

167891,  1«7892 

Finland     

Hon.  J.  M.  Crawford. 

169274 

do  

Minnesota  

Theo.  Roosevelt. 

22195 
22196 

Snowshoes,  Ainos(  p.  386)  
Snowshoes  (fig.  76)  

Japan  
Yokohama,  Japan  

Hon.  B.  S.  Lyman. 
Do. 

150C43 

Snowshoes  (p  386) 

63602,  63603 

Snowshoes  (p.  389)  

Siberia  

E.  W.  Nelson. 

63604 

Suowshoes  (nif.  79)... 

lev  Cane.  .  . 

Do. 

PRIMITIVE   TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION.  409 

SNOWSHOES  IN  THE  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM — Continued. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

2442 

Snowshoes  (fig.  78)  

Chukchi     

2443 

do  

do  

Do. 

15605 

Snowshoes  (p.  389)  

St.    Lawrence    Island 

H.  "W.  Elliott. 

4.r>734>  45733 

.   .    do                

Alaska. 
do 

63236 

Snowshoes  (p.  389)       

do  

E.  W.  Nelson 

44265 

Cape  Darby,  Alaska 

Do. 

48092 

Snowshoes  (fig.  80)  

do  

Do. 

45400 

Snowshoes  (pi.  11)  

Norton  Bay,  Alaska  

Do. 

48103 

Snowshoes  (p.  390)  ....            

do  

Do. 

896 

Alaska    

C.  P.  Gaudet. 

5569 

Snowshoes  ;pl.  12>  

Yukon  River,  Alaska..  . 

W.  H.  Dall. 

49099 

E.  W.  Nelson. 

8812 

Snowshoes  IugaliukEskimo(p  391) 

do  

W.  H.  Dall. 

38873 

Snowshoes  (p.  391  )  

do  

Do. 

90455 

SnowshoeH,  Kcnai  Indians 

Cooks  Inlet  

W.  J.  Fisher. 

90456 

do  

do    '       

Do. 

38874 

Snowshoes  (p.  394)  

Alaska  

E.W.  Nelson. 

72420,  72421 

Snowshoes  (pi.  13)  

Bristol  Bay,  Alaska  

C.  L.  McKay. 

89912-89914 

Snowshoes  (fig.  81)  

Point  Barrow,  Alaska  

Lieut.  P.  H.  Ray. 

877 
571 
862 

Snowahoes  (p.  397)  •.  
Snowshoes,  Kootcha,  Kutchin  
Snowshoes  

Anderson  River  

N  <  i  it  h  \w-st  Canada  
Yukon  River,  Alaska  

R.  Kennicott. 
W.L.Hardisty. 
R.  Kennicott. 

127941 

Snowehoes  (p  391)  

Putnam  River,  Alaska.  . 

Lieut.    G.    M.    Stoney, 

127614 

Snowshoes,  Tinnei  Indians(p.  395)  . 

Alaska  

U.  S.  N. 
Lieut.    E.   B.  Webster, 

153488 

do  

U.  S.  N. 
J.  C.  Rnssell. 

153489 

do  

do  

Do. 

153651,153652 

Snowshoes  

Yukon  River,  Alaska   . 

J.  H.  Turner. 

7470 

Snowshoes  (p.  397)  

Fort  Anderson,  Canada 

R.  MacFarlane. 

7471 

Snowshoes  (p.  397)  

do  

Do. 

530 

Snowshoes,  Chippewayan  

Mackenzie  River,  Canada 

B.  R.  Ross. 

1974 

Snowshoes  (p.  395)  

.  do  

Do. 

1975 

Snowshoes  (p.  396)  .....  ... 

do 

Do. 

2046 

Snowshoes  (p.  395)  

do  

Do. 

528 

Babiche  or  sno  wshoe  line  

do  

Do. 

568 

Snowshoes,  Slave  Indians  

do  

Do. 

569 

Snowshoes,  Chippewayan  Indians 

do  

Do. 

2044 

Babiche  for  snowshoes  

Fort  Simpson  Canada 

Do. 

5647 

Snowshoes  (pi.  16)  

do  

Do. 

860 
861 

Snowshoes  of  voyagers,  for  walk- 
ing behind  dog  sledge  (p.  395). 
Snowshoes,  Slave  Indians  (p.  395)  .  . 

Mackenzie  River,  Canada 
do  

I  :.  Kennicott. 
Do. 

5646 

Snowshoes,  Slave  Indians  (p.  395) 

do  

Do. 

536 

Snowshoes,  Yellow  Knife  Indians 

do  . 

Do. 

2045 

Snowshoes,  Yellow  Knife  Indians 

....  do  

Do. 

1330 

(p.  395). 
Snowshoes  (p.  397)  

do  

C.  P.  Gandet. 

72462 

do  

Chilkat.  Alaska 

John  J.  McLean. 

20783 

Snowshoes  (pi.  15)  

Sitka,  Alaska  

J.  G.  Swan. 

63558 

Snowshoes  (pL  14)  

do     

163509 

Snowshoes,  Montaguais  

Labrador  

Henry  G.  Bryant  . 

90019,  90020 

Suowsboes.  small  ... 

I'  n'M\  a  Bav.  Labrador.  . 

L.  M.Turner. 

410  REPORT   OF  NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1804. 

SNOWSHOES  IN  THE  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM — Continued. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

90023 

Ungava  Bay  Labrador  .  . 

L.  M.  Turner 

90145 

do      

•  Do 

90146-90153 

Snowshoes  (figs  86-88  pi.  17)  

...do 

Do 

2651 

Snowshoes,  Chippewa  (p.  406)  

Wisconsin  

War  Department. 

154370 

Minnesota  

W.  J    I  In  I!  n  lull 

154371 

do  .  . 

Do 

19116-19118 

T  Meads 

19119 

Snowshoes,  small  model  (p.  406) 

do  

Do. 

154369 

W.J  Hoffman 

126839 

Snowshoes,  hunter's  (p.  403)  

Adirondacks  

Maj.  C.    E.    Bendire, 

24788  24789 

British  North  America.  . 

U.S.A. 
G  R.  Renfrew  &,  Co 

1755 

Snowshoes  (pi.  19)  

Eastern  part  of  British 

J.  Varden. 

1756 

Snowshoes  (p.  405)  

North  America. 
do  ..   .. 

Do 

2730 

Snowshoes,  Sioux  Indians  (fig.  90)  . 

War  Department. 

73307-73310 

Snowshoes,  Catlin  collection  (p.  406) 

2728 

Captain  Wilkes  TJ  S.  N 

24109 

west  Coast  of  America  (fig.  92)  . 
Snowshoes,  circular  (fig.  91)  

K  1:  i  n  lii  1  1  1  

L.  S.  Dyar. 

2729 
165588 

Snowshdes,  Coast  Indians  (pi.  20)  .  . 

Columbia  River  
K  la  ma  lli  Cal. 

Lieut.  Wilkee,  U.  S.  N. 

ICE   CREEPERS. 

The  ice  creeper  is  a  device  of  some  kind  worn  under  the  boot  in  win- 
ter to  enable  the  traveler  to  walk  over  smooth  ice  or  snow  crust  without 
slipping.  The  snowshoe  prevents  the  traveler  from  sinking  in  the  snow 
and  at  the  same  time  in  many  places,  especially  in  America  and  north- 
eastern Asia,  affords  a  ratchet  to  prevent  the  foot  from  slipping  back- 
ward. The  creeper,  however,  does  not  prevent  the  foot  from  sinking 
in  the  snow,  but  simply  acts  as  a  ratchet  or  stop  to  prevent  its  slipping 
in  any  direction.  This  result  is  achieved  in  different  ways  by  different 
peoples.  The  Eussians,  the  Chinese,  and  the  Mongols  attach  sharp- 
headed  nails,  sometimes  of  immense  size,  to  the  bottoms  of  their  boots. 
The  eastern  Eskimo  quilt  the  bottom  of  the  shoe,  leaving  loops  of  raw- 
hide projecting  underneath  which  serve  the  purpose,  but  the  ice  creeper 
(par  excellence)  is  a  device  fastened  under  the  shoe  and  not  a  part  of 
it,  provided  with  sharp  points  beneath,  which  keep  the  foot  from 
slipping. 

There  is  a  small  area  of  distribution  for  this  type  of  objects,  as 
exhibited  by  the  collection  in  the  TJ.  S.  National  Museum,  partly  in  north- 
eastern Asia  and  partly  in  northwestern  America.  It  is  a  question, 
not  yet  settled,  whether  both  sets  of  peoples  owe  the  existence  of  this 
invention  to  the  presence  of  the  Russians  in  that  quarter. 

In  America  ice  creepers  precisely  like  those  of  the  Eskimo,  Chukchi, 
and  Kamchadales,  made,  however,  of  leather  and  iron,  are  worn  exten- 
sively in  winter  throughout  the  Northern  States. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION. 


411 


The  U.  S.  National  Museum  does  not  possess  any  specimens  from 
Kussia,  but  doubtless  such  things  are  used  there  abundantly. 

The  Roman  soldier  at  times  wore  under  the  bottom  of  his  caliga  or 
sandal  sharp  spikes,  like  harrow  teeth,  so  that  if  literally  men  were  not 
mangled  under  harrows,  it  was  just  as  painful  to  be  tramped  to  death 
thus.  Greig  reproduces  one  of  these  sandals  from  Baldninus  de  Calceo 
Antique,  etc.1 

Example  No.  55850  is  a  mandarin's  boot  from  north  China  to  be  worn 
in  icy  weather.    The  legs  and  uppers  are  of  soft,  black  leather  lined 
with  blue  cotton.    The  front  seam  extends  from  the  sole  in  front  to  the 
top  of  the  leg.    The  back  seam,  as  in  our 
boots,  reaches  from  the  sole  to  the  top, 
and  in  both  seams  is  a  neat  piping  of  thin 
leather.    The  noticeable  feature  here  is 
the  existence  of  a  thick  extra  sole  and 
heel,  the  former  having  sixteen  rifle-bullet 
shaped  iron'  points,  the  latter  twelve  pro- 
jecting downward  half  an  inch,  as  though 
two  Kamchatkan  ice-creeper  frames  had 
been  nailed  beneath  each  boot. 

The  Aiuo  rode  on  broad  Amur-skees  drawn 
by  the  reindeer.  Nordenskiold  figures,  from 
an  old  Japanese  book,  an  Aino  man,  bare- 
headed, dressed  in  fur,  wearing  skin  boots, 
standing  on  a  pair  of  skees  and  holding  the 
staff  or  balancing  pole  in  his  hand.  In 
front  of  the  man  trots  a  reindeer  having  a 
rawhide  line  about  its  neck,  the  other  end 
of  which  is  tied  around  the  man's  waist.2 

Example  No.  73092  (tig.  93)  is  a  snow- 
shoe  frame  and  ice  creeper  combined.  The 
framework  consists  of  two  bent  sticks  in  shape  of  an  oxbow,  one  tele- 
scoped into  the  other  and  bound  with  spruce  root  tucked  in  at  the  ends. 
Secured  between  the  two  bows,  at  the  side,  are  wedge-shaped  pieces 
sharp  at  the  bottom  so  as  to  be  driven  into  the  snow  crust,  or  surface, 
or  rough  ice.  The  structure  of  this  specimen  is  the  same  as  that  of  the 
snowshoe  before  mentioned  from  the  Caucasus. 

The  Kamchatkans  use  in  hunting  the  ice  shoe,  consisting  of  two  small 
parallel  "  splines"  3  feet  long  and  7  to  8  inches  apart,  united  at  each 
end,  and  having  crossbars;  they  have  the  same  curve  at  each  end,  and 
are  arched  in  the  middle  the  same  as  snowshoes,  and  like  them  fastened 
on  with  straps.  The  splines  are  set  underneath  with  pointed  bones  to 
stick  into  the  ice.  This  example  may  be  compared  with  the  Finland 


Fig.  93. 
COMBINED  SNOWSHOE  AND  ICE  CREEPEB 

WORN  BY  THE  AINOS  OF  JAPAN. 

Cat.  No.  73092,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Romyn 

Hitchcock. 


I  .  \V.  Greig,  "Old-Fashioned  Shoes,"  pi.  xvi. 
"'Voyage  of  the  Vega,"  New  York,  1882,  p.  475. 


412 


REPORT   OP   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 


Fig.  94. 

ICE  CREEPER  OP  IVORY  FROM  NORTHEASTERN  SIBERIA. 
Cat.  No.  2433,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  the  Kodgers  Expedition. 


skee,  which  has  a  midrib  or  keel  the  whole  length  underneath.  The 
Kamchadal  who  live  in  the  neighborhood  of  ice  hills  or  glaciers  make 
use  of  sharp-pointed  irons,  called  posluki,1  which  they  fasten  to  the  foot. 
"For  smooth  ice  or  snow  the  Tuski  use  'creepers'  of  carved  ivory, 
having  serrated  edges,  fastened  under  the  moccasin,  which  prove  of 
great  service." 2 

Example  No.  2433  (fig.  94)  is  an  ice  creeper  from  northeastern  Asia  col- 
lected by  Admiral 
John  Rodgers.  It 
consists  of  a  piece  of 
walrus  ivory  cut  in 
rectangular  shape 
and  having  a  rec- 
tangular piece  re- 
moved from  the 
middle.  Around 
the  underside  of  the 
remaining  piece  are 
ten  projections  or 
blunt  points.  This 
piece  of  ivory  is  tied  under  the  instep  of  the  boot  by  means  of  a  thong 
passing  though  holes  bored  at  either  end.  The  student  in  looking  at 
this  piece  will  hardly  fail  to  recognize  that  it  is  copied  from  something 
else,  and  in  reading  the  description  of  the  wooden  frame  with  spikes 
beneath,  worn  under  foot  by  Kam- 
chadal, will  see  at  once  whence  the 
motive  came. 

Example  No.  46261  (fig.  95)  is  an 
ice  creeper  from  Plover  Bay,  in  north- 
eastern Asia,  collected  by  W.  M. 
Noyes.  It  is  well  known  that 
the  people  of  Plover  Bay  are 
Eskimo  who  have  gone  over 
there  in  times  not  remote  to 
take  up  their  abode,  and 
this  specimen,  therefore,  was 
worn  by  an  Eskimo.  It  con- 
sists of  an  oblong,  rectangu- 
lar piece  of  ivory  cut  out  in 
the  middle  and  having  four- 
teen little  obtuse  points  or  projections  beneath,  and  is  fastened  to  the 
foot  in  exactly  the  same  manner  as  the  foregoing.  Short  rude  snow- 
shoes  are  used  for  ice  creepers  by  Chukchi  and  Eskimo  about  Bering 
Strait. 


Figs.  95  and  96. 

ICE  CREEPERS  OF  IVORY  FROM  PLOVER  BAY,  SIBERIA. 
Cat.  Nos.  46261  and  46260,  U.  S.  I».  M.     Collected  by  E.  W.  Nelson. 


1  LangBdorff,  "  Voyages,"  London,  1814,  n,  p,  292. 
*Hooper,  "  Tents  of  the  Tuski,"  London,  1853,  p.  185. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


413 


Example  No.  46260  (fig.  96)  is  another  specimen  from  the  same 
locality,  which  is  interesting  because  of  the  variation  in  detail.  The 
shape  is  rectangular  in  outline  on  top,  but  is  chamfered  beneath  around 
all  of  its  margins,  and  also  the  margin  of  the  cavity  in  the  middle  has 
been  chamfered,  so  that  beneath  were  left  two  long  edges,  like  sled 

runners;  by  cutting  away 
notches  in  these  pyramidal 
points  \v«»re  formed.  The 
lashing  is  similar  to  tliosr 
before  named. 

Example  No.  63881  (fig.97) 
is  from  St.  Lawrence  Island, 
and  exhibits  another  stage 
in  the  process  of  elaboration. 
The  general  shape  is  quad- 
rangular. Theuppf-r  partis 
cut  so  as  to  fit  around  the 
foot  a  little  better.  There 

is  no  excavation  fn)m  tbe 

middle,  but  by  a  series  of  fur- 
rows filed  on  the  underside, 
three  longitudinally  and 
eight  laterally,  a  series  of 
thirty-six  pyramidal  projec- 
tions are  effected.  The  lashing  or  attachment  to  the  foot  is  exactly  as  in 
the  preceding  one. 

The  last  step  in  this  evolution,  or  practically  fading  out  of  a  type  of 
invention,  is  a  specimen  from  Sledge  Island,  No.  44761  (fig.  08),  collected 
by  E.  W.  Nelson.  This  is  also  a  rectangular  specimen.  The  edges  are 
chamfered  all  around.  Underneath  a  broad  furrow  is  gouged  longitu- 
dinally through  the  middle  and  ridges  remaining  are  filed  across,  leav- 
ing two  rows  of  projecting  pyramids.  So  far  as  the  collections  in  the 

U.  S.  National  Museum  are  concerned,  this  

peculiar  device  does  not  seem  to  have  gone 
any  farther  southward  on  the  American 
side. 

Murdoch  says  that  in  early  spring,  before 
it  thaws  enough  to  render  waterproof  boots 
necessary,  the  surface  of  the  snow  becomes 
very  smooth  and  slippery.  To  enable  them- 
selves to  walk  on  this,  the  natives  make  a 
kind  of  creeper  of  strips  of  sealskin,  doubled  lengthwise  and  generally 
bent  into  a  half  moon  or  horseshoe  shape,  with  the  folded  edges  on 
the  outside  of  the  curve  sewed  on  the  toe  and  heel  of  the  sealskin 
sole,1  (Fig.  99.) 


Figs.  97  and  98. 

ICE  CREEPERS  OK  IVORY,  FROM  ALASKA. 
Cut.  N<.».  6SS81  and  44761.  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collect.-.!  hy  E.  W.  Ne 


Fin-  »9- 

ICE  CREEPER  ATTACHED  TO  BOOT  SOLE. 

Point  Barrow,  Alaska. 

From  *  fifiire  in  the  Ninth  Annual  Report  "f  the 


1  Cf.  Ninth  Ann.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  p.  135.  fig.  82. 


414 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


In  example  No.  56750,  a  pair  of  boots  from  Point  Barrow,  Murdocn 
draws  attention  to  a  large  round  patch  of  seal  skin  with  the  hair  on, 
and  pointing  toward  the  toe,  to  prevent  the  wearer  from  slipping. 
These  patches  are  carefully  "blind  stitched  "on  so  that  the  sewing  does 
not  show  on  the  outside.  On  the  Amur  snowshoe  the  hair  is  pointing 
backward  to  prevent  slipping.1 

At  Point  Barrow,  says  Herendeen,  the  Eskimo  make  an  ice  creeper 
by  rolling  up  rawhide  and  sewing  the  strips  across  the  boot,  which 
should  be  compared  with  the  Ungava  plan. 

The  boots  of  the  Northern  Labrador  Eskimo  are  peculiar.  The  soles 
are  often  made  with  strips  of  sealskin  thongs  sewed  on  a  false  sole, 

which  is  attached  to  the  un- 
dersurface  of  the  sole  proper. 
The  strips  of  thong  are  tacked 
on  by  a  stout  stitch,  then  a 
short  loop  is  taken  up  and 
another  stitch  sews  a  portion 
of  the  remainder  of  the  strip. 
This  is  continued  until  the  en- 
tire undersurface  consists  of 
a  series  of  short  loops,  which, 
when  in  contact  with  the 
smooth  ice,  prevent  the  foot 
from  slipping;  not  made  in 
any  other  portion  of  the  dis- 
trict.2 (Fig.  100.) 

An  interesting  example  of 
the  fading  out  of  a  device  is 
seen  in  the  wipka  or  skeleton 
shoes  of  the  Klamath  Indians, 
example  No.  165588  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum.  Their  god  kuu- 
kamtihiksh  wore  them.  It  is  not  a  suowshoe  at  all  in  the  sense  of  sus- 
taining a  person  on  the  snow,  but  a  net  in  the  form  of  a  moccasin  drawn 
over  the  latter  as  an  overshoe.  It  is  made  of  coarse  twine,  in  twined 
weaving,  with  a  mesh  about  an  inch  wide.  A  similar  makeshift,  example 
No.  165558  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  is  from  the  Moki  pueblo. 

ICE  CREEPERS  IN  THE  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM. 


Fig.  100. 

ICE  CREEPER  ON  BOOT  SOLE.      HUDSON  BAY  ESKIMO. 

Collected  by  L.  M   Turner. 
DIM  a  figure  in  the  Eleventh  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

73092 

R.  Hitchcock 

2433 
46260-46262 
63300 

Ice  creepers,  ivory  (fig.  94)  
Ice  creepers,  ivory  (figs.  95,  96)  
Ice  creepers,  ivory  

Chukchi  
Plover  Bay,  Siberia   
St.  Lawrence  Island, 

Commodore  Rodgers 
W.  M.  Noyes. 
E.  W.  Nelson. 

126982 

...do... 

Alaska. 
...do  .. 

Do. 

1  Cf.  Ninth  Ann.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  p.  132. 
2 Ibid.,  p.  179. 


PRIMITIVE   TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 
ICE  CRKEPERS  IN  THE  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM — Continued. 


415 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

63881 

St.  Lawrence  Island, 

E.  W.  Nelson 

44361 

Alaska. 
Cape  Nome,  Alaska.  .  ... 

Do. 

44559 

do       

Sledge  Island,  Alaska  . 

Do. 

44761  44762 

do  

Do 

49176 

Alaska 

Do 

153439 

do  

J  C.  Russell 

90189-90193 

L  M   Turner 

165588 

Twined,  over  -moccasins  .......*.  

Klamath  Indians,  Cali- 

Bureau of  Ethnology 

fornia. 

PRIMITIVE  MAN  AS  A  CARRIER. 


Among  the  numerous  epithets  applied  to  man  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  he  is  a  carrying  animal,  an  emigrating  animal.  Other  species  carry 
objects,  but  they  make  no  carrying  devices;  fishes  and  birds  especially 
are  migratory,  but  they  go  in  annual  circuits,  many  of  which  they  have 


Fig.  101. 

VllicilMA  NEGRO  ON  THE  BOAD. 
From  R  fitnrr  in  ih-  ll.-port  of  the  Smith»om»n  Institution  (U.  8.  National  Muwurn),  1887. 

been  repeating  since  the  glacial  epoch.  Many  animals  are  provided  by 
nature  with  pouches  and  carrying  organs.  So  men  also  have  excellent- 
hands  and  arms,  relieved  of  the  toilsome  work  of  walking  so  that  they 
may  be  more  free  to  grip  and  hold. 


416 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


In  this  chapter  it  is  designed  to  trace  the  progress  of  early  and  more 
primitive  forms  of  invention  as  applied  to  the  carrying  industry.  Now- 
adays one  may  see  men  in  the  double  role  of  carrier  and  of  rider ;  they 
carry  and  are  being  carried,  which  gives  rise  to  the  two  generic  terms, 
freight  and  passengers.  The  freight  of  the  world  as  well  as  its  pas 
sengers  are  either  carried  or  hauled,  and  these  separate  functions  divide 
men  into  pack  animals  and  traction  animals. 

For  carrying  on  the  head  or  toting,  according  to  the  shape  of  the 
load  and  the  skill  of  the  bearer,  there  may  be  (1)  nothing  to  hold  the 
load  on;  (2)  one  or  both  hands  may  grasp  the  burdens;  (3)  the  forearm 
may  rest  between  load  and  head ;  (4)  a  pad,  having  many  patterns  from 
land  to  land,  may  sustain  the  load  on  the  head  and  support  it  when 
placed  on  the  ground;  (5)  the  receptacle  may  be  made  convex  at  the 
bottom  by  an  added  rim  or  by  punching  up.1  Finally,  the  load  may  be 
hung  from  the  head  by  means  of  a  headband  and  slings  or  straps.  In 
such  cases  there  is  a  double  resting  place  for  the  back  and  shoulders 
and  hips,  all  assist  in  sustaining  the  burden.  Furthermore,  the  student 
will  notice  that  the  head  strap  rests  against  the  forehead  in  some 
instances  and  against  the  bregma  in  others,  as  in  the  Apache  water 
carrier.  This  same  head  or  forehead  baud  will  occur  in  certain  tribes 
as  an  instrument  of  traction.  Toting  as  against  carrying  with  the 
headband  will  also  be  found  to  have  relation  to  natural  resources,  and 
hence  to  tribal  and  ethnic  custom. 

It  should  be  noticed  in  this  connection  by  craniologists  that  among 
savages  that  carry  loads  on  the  head  or  use  the  burden  strap  or  other 
devices  about  the  forehead,  children  are  taught  and  compelled  just  as 
soon  as  they  can  walk  to  carry  loads.  Small  jars,  baskets,  frames,  or 
packs  are  loaded  upon  them  at  first,  and  these  are  increased  with  age. 
Again,  in  many  tribes  carrying  methods  are  a  matter  of  sex,  so  that  if 
any  modification  of  the  skull  takes  place  by  the  act  it  would  show  itself 
in  one  sex  and  not  in  the  other. 

CARRYING  PADS  FOR  THE  HEAD  IN  THE  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

77189 

Head  pad  for  packing  

Hupa  Valley,  California  . 

Lieut.  P.  H.  Kay,  TJ.  S.  A. 

126907 
84107,  84108 

Head  pad,  leather  and  grass  twine  .  . 
Belt  for  carrying  burdens,  Moki  

California  
Arizona  

Do. 
V.  Mindeleff. 

84109,  84110 

Head  pad,  Moki  Indians  

do  

Do. 

22828 

...  do            

Maj  J  W.  Powell. 

70962-70974 

do                      ... 

40473 

Head  pads  (fig  161)  Zuiii 

Do 

41760 

...  do       

Do. 

41761 

Carrying  strap,  hood  rope,  Moki  .... 

do  

Do. 

42156 

Carrying  band,  plaited,  Moki  

do  

Do. 

76980 

Headband  

Mexico    

New  Orleans  Exposition. 

152720 

Carrying  gourd  and  yoke  

Colima,  Mexico  

iRatzel  figures  a  Schilluk  woman,  barefooted,  with  a  jar  on  the  head,  supported 
by  the  wrist  of  the  right  hand  and  grasped  at  the  rim  with  the  left. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL   AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


417 


CARRYING- YOKES  AND  HEADBANDS  IN  THE  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contribute!. 

167783 

Yokes     

Finland  

Hon.  Jno.  M.  Crawford. 

73386 

Carrying  strap  

New  Guinea     

D.  S.  Spaulding 

151190 

Sandwich  Islands  . 

Mrs  Sibyl  Carter 

153361 

Carrying  bands  

India  

W.  H.  Ball. 

153557 

Carrying  rope,  goat's  hair  

Kashmir,  India  

Dr.  "W.  L.  Abbott 

150679  150680 

Carrying  band  

Yezo,  Japan  

Komyn  Hitchcock. 

150683 

do  

do  

Do. 

150757 

do  

Do. 

77112 

Seoul  Korea  

The  shoulders  and  back  are  favorite  places  for  men's  burdens;  women 
a  little  more  commonly  prefer  "  toting."  The  roustabouts  and  wharf  men 
set  all  sorts  of  sacks  upon  the  shoulder  for  short  distances.  The  sack 
holds  its  own  as  a  carrying  utensil  on  their  account.  The  shoulder  not 
only  lends  itself  to  actual  burden  bearing, 
but  has  been  the  occasion  of  inventions  in 
the  following  directions: 

.(1)  In  the  utensil  that  fits  and  holds  the 
load — the  receptacle  or  package  (fig.  134). 

(2)  In  the  carrying  device  itself,  the  ve- 
hicle. 

(3)  In  the  attachment  of  the  burden  to 
the  man,  the  harness  (fig.  102). 

These  are  not  always  separate,  and  not 
even  ever  present,  but  the  operation  must 
always  embrace  the  use  of  something  an- 
swering to  these  and  out  of  which  they  were 
elaborated. 

Carrying  is  done  on  one  shoulder,  on  both 
shoulders,  and  on  the  shoulders  and  neck. 

All  the  eastern  Asiatics  and  the  Polyne- 
sians carry  a  load  first  on  one  shoulder,  then 
on  the  other,  by  means  of  a  shoulder  pole. 

The  race  of  peddlers  and  of  men  with  lit- 
tle impedimenta  in  Europe  and  America  go 
about  with  their  belongings  in  a  pack  borne 
on  the  end  of  a  stick,  resting  near  its  mid- 
dle on  the  shoulder  and  grasped  by  the 
hand  at  the  other  end  (fig.  101). 

African  porters,  as  will  be  seen,  have  their  load  on  one  shoulder, 
either  with  or  without  carrying-frame,  and  relieve  that  shoulder  by 
putting  the  middle  of  the  staff  on  the  other  shoulder  and  catching  the 
lower  end  of  the  staff  beneath  the  load  behind  (fig.  103). 

Finally,  the  Caucasian  literally  wears  a  yoke,  so  carved  out  that  it 
H.  Mis.  90,  pt.  2 21 


Fig.  102. 
CARRIER'S  SHOULDER-PADS  FROM  >ir- 

HAMBA,  AFRICA. 

Cat.  No.  151132,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  l.y  th- 
U.  S.  Ellipse  Expedition. 


418 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


rests  on  both  shoulders  and  the  atlas  at  once  (figs.  108,  109).  The  "por- 
ter's knot"  is  an  invention  which  combines  head,  atlas,  and  shoulders 
into  one  resting  place  for  enormous  burdens  (fig.  110). 

But,  somehow  the  back  has  come  proverbially  to  be  the  seat  of  the 
human  load,  so  as  to  leave  the  arms  free.  Knapsacks,  carrying  frames, 
porters'  packs,  and  the  thousand  and  one  devices  for  long  marches  are 
designed  for  the  back,  especially  in  Europe  and  aboriginal  America. 

The  head- strap  load,  the  breast-strap  load,  the  shoulder-strap  load, 


•   Fig.  103. 
ANGOLA  NEGRO  CARRYING  ON  THB  SHOULDER. 

Krom  a  photograph  in  V.  S.  National  Museum. 

the  sack  held  over  the  shoulder  by  its  mouth,  all  rest  against  the  lean- 
ing back,  and  are  sustained  upon  the  center  of  gravity  of  the  body. 
Allied  to  this  back  load  is  the  burden  on  the  hip  and  on  the  thighs. 

Besides  these  wholesale  methods  there  is  the  infinitely  varied  retail 
method  of  bearing  small  packages  on  the  hands,  arms,  breast,  stomachr 
and  knees,  which  together  afford  room  for  regional,  racial,  and  cultural 
variations  of  apparatus.  One  will  see  in  pictures  of  Brazil,  for  instance, 
a  servant  carrying  a  bottle  of  wine  or  fruit  on  the  head  as  a  feat  of  agility 
in  toting.  In  another  place,  men  are  trained  to  the  knack  of  carrying 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL   AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


419 


after  other  fashions,  until  they  seem  to  take  on  certain  gaits  and  styles 
of  walking.  But  it  is  along  the  docks  and  retail  streets  that  one  will 
witness  the  survival  of  all  modes  of  burden  bearing  in  vogue  since 
human  history  began. 

The  devices  for  carrying  loads  will  first  receive  attention;  after  that 
the  carrying  of  children  and  adult  persons.  Following  the  method  of 
the  former  chapter,  it  seems  more  convenient,  from  a  museum  point  of 
view,  to  continue  the  geographic  order,  regarding — 

(1)  Africa  in  its  negroid  portions. 

(2)  Caucasian  Africa,  Europe,  and  Asia. 
(-3)  Semitic  and  southern  Asia. 

(4)  Northern  Asia  and  its  appendages. 

(5)  America. 

This  order  is  generally  followed  so  as  to  bring  geographic  areas  into 
contact  where  there  has-been  also 
industrial  contact. 

A  common  sight  in  the  land- 
scape of  negroid  Africa  is  that  of  a 
woman  with  an  immense  jar  on 
her  head,  steadied  not  by  her  hair 
or  by  a  carrying  ring,  but  by  her 
naked  forearm  resting  between  the 
head  and  the  jar  or  gourd.  Her 
other  hand  may  or  may  not  hold 
to  the  rim.  These  toting  negroes 
are  now  all  over  the  warm  por- 
tions of  the  world.  No  sight  is 
more  common  in  the  streets  of 
Washington  than  that  of  an  old 
negress  with  an  immense  bundle 
on  her  head.  In  their  native  coun- 
tries the  negroid  tribes  have  in- 
vented apparatuses  for  carrying. 

Example  No.  151129  (fig.  104)  is  a  rudecarryiug  or  packingbasket  from 
Angola.  The  bottom  is  made  in  form  of  a  mat  or  head  pad.  The  warp 
is  a  series  of  rods,  and  the  weft  is  in  twined  weaving,  common  in  Africa, 
in  eastern  Asia,  and  in  the  Pacific  States  of  North  America  north  of 
the  Pueblo  country.  The  lower  row  of  this  twining  should  be  noticed 
as  a  bare  suggestion  of  which  the  bird-cage  baskets  of  California  and 
Oregon  are  the  fine  art.  It  is  designed  to  introduce  a  little  more  rigidity 
into  the  texture.  In  this  specimen  the  complete  carrying  baskets  of 
many  lands  appear  almost  as  a  skeleton,  and  there  are  many  variations 
of  this  type  in  West  Africa. 

A  carrying  basket  from  the  Herero  African  tribe  in  the  Berlin 
Museum  fiir  Volkerkunde  is  a  little  on  the  plan  of  the  typical  bean 
basket  of  the  Mohave,  but  much  shallower.  Its  motif  is  hoops  and 
sections  of  hoops  in  three  series  held  in  place  by  windings  of  bast.  At 


Fig.  104. 

CARRYING-CRATE  FROM  ANGOLA,  AFRICA. 
Cat.  No.  1M129,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Hifli  ChmHnin. 


420 


REPORT    OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 


the  top  is  a  wooden  hoop.  To  this  hoop  are  lashed  three  segments  of 
hoops  outside,  their  ends  close  together  on  opposite  sides,  like  meridio- 
nal lines.  Inside  these  are  laid  segments  of  hoops  of  smaller  size, 
at  right  angles  to  the  three  and  parallel  to  one  another,  like  the  wires 
in  a  rat  trap.1 

Example  No.  152612  (fig.  105)  is  from  the  French  Kongo,  the  gift  of  the 
Cincinnati  Museum  Association.  In  this  specimen  the  common  wicker- 
work  is  used;  that  is,  a  rigid  warp  and  flexible  filling.  It  is  seen  in 
America  in  three  culture  regions,  that  of  the  birch,  ash,  and  oak  splint, 
that  of  the  split  cane,  and  in  one  Pueblo  in  northeastern  Arizona  made 
from  little  twigs  of  Hilaria  Jamesii.  The  plaited  headband  of  the 
specimen  here  figured  would  also  be  familiar  in  America. 

Baker  furnishes  excellent  examples  of  varied  carrying  among  the 
Madi  negroes:  Four  men  bearing  a  house  frame  on  their  heads  and 
spears  or  bows  in  their  hands;  woman  with  hamper  on  the  head  and 

child  astride  the  hips ;  woman  with 
hamper  on  the  head  and  gourd  in  net 
borne  in  left  hand ;  bottle  in  net  and 
child  clasped  in  the  arms  against 
the  stomach ;  man  with  great  bundle 
of  long  poles  on  back,  shoulders,  and 
head,  held  in  place  with  both  hands, 
the  small  ends  dragging  on  the 
ground;  the  whole  party  are  driving 
a  herd  of  cattle. 

Knapsack  straps  and  headband 
combined  are  given  by  Du  Chaillu 
in  the  picture  of  an  Aschira  negro 
carrier.  The  man  is  naked,  save  a 
loin  cloth ;  holds  a  staff  in  his  hand 
and  bears  on  his  back  a  crate,  shown 
with  board  bottom  and  latticed  sides.  The  crate  is  supported  by  a 
band  across  the  forehead  and  a  strap  over  each  shoulder,  attached  to 
the  borders  of  the  crate.  This  should  be  compared  with  a  picture  in 
v.  d.  Steinen's  "  Unter  den  Naturvolkern  Zeutral-Brasiliens,"  pi.  vi,  and 
page  237. 2 

Rat/el  reproduces  from  Cameron  a  Mrua  man  barefooted,  wearing  only 
a  cloth  about  the  loin,  carrying  a  plain  or  self  bow  in  the  right  hand,  a 
spear  in  the  left  hand,  and  three  arrows  under  his  left  arm.  On  his  back, 
knapsack  fashion,  is  a  bale  of  goods,  and  suspended  on  his  left  side 
from  his  left  shoulder  hangs  a  fish  basket  and  scrip  or  small  haversack.3 
Exam  pie  No.  169128  (fig.  106)  from  Kongo  Free  State,  Africa,  is  a  carry- 
ing frame  or  basket,  collected  by  J.  H.  Camp.  The  essential  parts,  as  of 
many  others  in  the  TJ.  S.  National  Museum  from  the  area  of  African 


Fig.  105. 
WOMAN'S  CARRYING-BASKET  WITH  HKAUBAND. 

Cat.  X...  152612,U.  S.  N.  M.      Collected  by  C.  Stei-keliMiu. 


1  Figured  by  Ratzel,  "  Volkerkunde,"  Leipzig,  1887, 1,  p.  333. 
*Cf.  Ratzel,  "  Volkerknmle,"  Leipzig,  1887,  i,  p.  596. 
3  Ratzel,  "Volkerkunde,"  Leipzig,  1887, 1,  p.  92. 


PRIMITIVE   TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION. 


421 


porters,  are  the  two  substantial  bamboo  rods  along  the  bottom;  around 
this  a  network  of  bamboo  fillets  in  twined  weaving  is  constructed,  and 
the  flat  border  finished  oft'  in  diaper  weaving.  The  staff  always  accompa- 
nies this  device,  not  only  to  support  the  carrier,  but  to  place  on  the 
vacant  shoulder  as  a  fulcrum  in  order  to  help  support  the  frame. 

Example  No.  151132  is  a  Muhamba  carrying  frame  from  Portu- 
guese West  Africa,  collected  by  Heli  Chatelain.  The  fundamental 
parts  are  the  rods  and  the  sides.  The  rods  are  two  poles  about  6  feet 
long,  laid  parallel,  like  the  frame  of  a  bier  upon  which  the  apparatus 

is  built  up.  In  the  economy  of  the  carrier 
these  poles  serve  as  foundation  for  the  frame, 
as  holds  for  the  hands,  and  the  projections 
of  the  rods  enable  the  carrier  to  set  his  load 
upon  the  ground  and  to  resume  it  without 
much  stooping.  The  sides  of  the  apparatus 
are  two-netted  hoops.  Each  hoop  is  a  stick 
bent  into  an  elongated  ellipse,  and  lashed  to 


Fig.  106. 

CARRYINQ-CRATB  OF  CANE  FROM  KONGO,  AFRICA. 
Cat.  No.  1691S8,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  J.  H.  Camp. 

the  poles.  The  network  consists  of  quadrilateral  meshes  made  of  cane 
splints  served  neatly  all  over  with  finely  split  cane.  Between  the  chief 
meshes  and  subdividing  them  is  a  series  of  meshes  in  wrapped  style 
of  weaving.  The  poles  are  held  in  place  by  cross-pieces,  and  the  space 
padded  beneath  to  protect  the  shoulders.  These  frames  are  convenient 
in  packing,  and  the  load  is  required  to  be  put  up  in  such  manner  as 
to  fit  them.1 

Serpa  Pinto  figures  a  Biheilo  carrier  with  his  regulation  pack  fastened 
between  the  parts  of  a  forked  stick  and  borne  on  the  shoulder.  His 
belt  is  a  regular  arsenal  and  commissary.2  This  may  be  compared  with 
the  West  African  and  Kongo  pack. 

Example  No.  72708,  received  from  the  Museum  fur  Volkerkunde, 
Leipzig,  is  the  most  interesting  specimen  of  this  type  of  frame  for  the 
reason  that  it  is  constructed  from  two  palm  leaves  and  may  be  made 


1  Cf.  Steinen,  '.'  Unter  den  Naturvolkern  Zentral-Brasiliens,"  pi.  vi,  p.  72. 
*Ratzel,  "  Volkerknnde,"  Leipzig,  1887,  I,  p.  194. 


422 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


without  the  use  of  metal  tools  by  laying  the  stems  parallel  and  a  few 
inches  apart.  The  leaflets  on  the  sides  of  the  stem  that  are  toward 
each  other  are  interwoven,  which  forms  a  prolonged  webbing  on  which 
the  load  may  rest.  The  leaflets  on  the  outside  of  each  stem  are  twisted 
for  a  few  inches  and  their  ends  are  braided  down  together  to  form  a 
continuous  upper  border  of  the  apparatus.  This  construction  will  be 
best  seen  by  examining  fig.  107.  Nothing  could  be  simpler  than  this 
device,  and  yet  it  is  an  attractive  object,  containing  all  of  the  elements 
of  the  most  finished  carrying  frame  from  the  African  region. 
There  are  over  one  hundred  thousand  carriers  on  the  Kongo.  They 

are  almost  naked  African  sav- 
ages, and  yet  the  produce  they 
bring  is  on  its  way  to  the  great 
streams  of  world  commerce. 
Each  one  of  tbeni  carries  a  load 
of  75  pounds  12  or  more  miles  a 
day,  making  in  round  numbers 
a  unit  of  1,000  pounds  1  mile. 
Among  the  Kasai  and  other 
wooly-haired  tribes,  as  well  as 
in  the  Papuan  area,  the  women 
carry  water  jars  on  the  shoul- 
der. The  reason  seems  to  lie 
in  the  great  care  that  is  taken 
of  the  hair.  Enough  material 
does  not  exist  in  the  U.  S. 
National  Museum  to  test  the 
question  whether  Friedrich 
Miiller's  division  according  to 
hair  is  tallied  by  the  two 
customs  of  head  carrying  and 
shoulder  carrying  respectively. 
Fig.  107.  .  The  jars  are  always  round  bot- 


CAHRYING-FHAME  OF  BRAIDED  PALM  LEAF.       tomed  and  the  roads  tolerably 

Cat.  No.  72708,  U.  S.  N.  M.  level. 

These  same  round  jars  or  gourds,  in  order  to  be  carried  in  other 
ways,  must  be  protected.  The  most  common  and  natural  style  of  sling 
or  lashing  for  a  rotund  jar  or  gourd  consists  of  two  small  circles  of 
some  flexible  material  near  the  top  and  the  bottom  united  like  the  snare 
of  a  drum  so  that  they  can  not  move  either  way.  A  cord  attached  to 
either  of  them  or  around  the  bottom  and  united  with  them  will  be 
efficient.  The  jar  and  the  gourd  being  frail,  the  sling  has  often  pad 
ding  added  or  protection  at  exposed  points  and  extra  bottoms  are 
attached  to  the  lower  ring. 

In  the  rattan  region  this  inclosure  of  the  gourd  is  most  efficient  and 
elaborate.    In  many  examples  the  network  is  tastefully  knotted  and 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  423 

ornamented  and  provided  with  a  bottom  and  a  bale.  The  vessel  may 
be  carried  then  after  any  fashion;  maybe  set  down  and  will  sup]>ort 
itself;  is  guarded  against  destruction  by  a  blow.  The  U.  8.  National 
Museum  possesses  a  great  variety  of  such  vessels,  which  are  usually 
devoted  to  the  transportation  of  water,  oil,  milk,  etc. 

A  very  elaborate  mounting  for  carrying  a  gourd  bottle,  in  the 
U.  S.  National  Museum,  is  No.  5587,  from  the  Kongo.  A  conoid  carrying 
basket  is  formed  of  a  warp  of  bent  rods  erossing  at  the  bottom,  fitted 
to  the  gourd  and  held  in  place  by  weaving  in  leather  thong  and  cotton 
thread.  Palm  oil,  animal  fat,  milk,  and  other  food  liquids,  as  well  as 
pombe  and  native  fermented  drinks,  are  kept  for  immediate  use  in  such 
inclosures.  They  are  well  known  to  collectors  by  their  indestructible 
rancid  odor. 

Example  No.  7<»2S1  is  a  long  carrying  gourd  from  the  Kongo,  collected 
by  Hon.  W.  P.  Tisdel.  It  is  mounted  by  boring  a  hole  in  the  side  near 
the  small  end,  cutting  off  the  end  and  running  a  noose  up  from  the 
former  hole  through  the  latter.  The  knot  at  one  end  of  the  noose  forms 


Fig.  108. 

ENGLISH  CAKKVISO-VOKK. 
Cat,  No.  131093,  r.  >.  N.  M.     CollTted  by  Edward  Lovett. 

the  toggle  and  the  bend  the  means  of  attachment.  The  gourd  is  about 
30  inches  long  and  3  inches  thick. 

It  will  be  convenient  to  insert  here  some  of  the  survivals  of  primitive 
eanying  apparatus  and  methods  in  vogue  in  Europe.  Indeed,  every 
form  of  transportation  may  be  witnessed  on  the  farm  and  garden,  about 
the  docks,  and  along  the  commercial  streets,  and  especially  in  the 
markets.  Every  part  of  the  body  tit  to  carry  any  object  is  harnessed. 
Every  kind  of  harness  for  attaching  the  load  to  the  person  is  in  use. 
Every  sort  and  shape  of  receptacle  for  holding  loads  and  holding  them 
on  survives.  Finally,  in  the  great  commercial  centers,  all  things  that 
ha\e  been  carried  elsewhere  must  be  borne  again. 

The  carrying  yoke  (example  No.  131093,  fig.  108),  from  England,  is  a 
type  of  harness  widely  dispersed  in  northern  Europe  and  among  the 
colonists  from  that  area.  Dr.  W.  J.  Hoffman  found  the  Indians  of  Wis- 
consin and  Minnesota  carrying  water  and  maple  sap  in  buckets  made 
of  birch  bark  on  their  backs  by  means  of  this  yoke.  The  parts  of  the 
utensil  are  the  horixontal  piece,  or  the  yoke  itself,  and  the  slings. 
The  yoke  itself  is  wider  than  it  Is  thick,  is  rounded  on  all  corners,  for 
ease  to  the  carrier,  and  tapers  toward  the  ends  to  reduce  weight.1  It 


'Rep.  Smithsonian  Inst.  (U.  8.  Nat.  Mas.),  1887,  p.  285,  fig.  40. 


424 


REPORT    OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 


also  serves  another  purpose  in  common  with  all  other  carrying  poles, 
it  holds  the  loads  away  from  the  body.  Whoever  has  tried  to  carry 
two  pails  of  water  with  his  hands  alone  knows  this.  It  is  a  common 
thing  in  the  country  to  see  the  boys  and  women  using  a  hogshead  hoop 
as  a  spreader.  In  the  cities  two  ice  men  carry  an  enormous  block  by 
both  holding  to  the  hooks  and  one  pushing  against  the  shoulder  of  the 
other  for  a  brace.  This  triangulation  of  lift  and  push  is  excellently 
illustrated  in  the  style  of  carrying  in  vogue  among  the  peasantry  of 
Europe.  The  yoke  is  practically  reversed.  A  strap  or  rope  about  6 
feet  long,  with  a  hook  at  each  end,  is  worn  over  the  neck  and  the  hooks 
attached  to  the  bales  of  the  buckets  to  be  carried  (fig.  109).  This  enables 
the  bearer  to  use  both  arms  and  neck,  for  the  hands  may  grasp  either 

the  handles  of  the  hooks  or  the 
bales  of  the  buckets.  In  order 
to  hold  the  loads  away  from  the 
person  four  sticks  are  framed 
together,  and  the  two  crossbars 
are  laid  against  the  bales  of  the 
bucket  on  the  side  next  to  the 
carrier.1 

Example  No.  131091  in  the  U.  S. 
National  Museum  (fig.  110)  is  a 
"porter's  knot,"  procured  in  Lon- 
don by  Mr.  Edward  Lovett.  This 
specimen  is  a  hard  pillow,  after 
the  general  plan  of  a  horse  collar. 
A  baud  passes  around  the  fore- 
.head  and  the  knot  or  pad  rests 
on  the  shoulders  and  the  back. 
Its  uses  are  twofold,  first  to  pro- 
tect the  head  and  body  from  in- 
jury, and  to  perfect  this  function  a 
cap  of  stout  leather  is  worn.  The 
chief  use,  however,  is  to  enable 
the  carrier  to  take  any  kind  of  load  at  will — boxes,  bags,  furniture,  in 
short,  every  sort  of  freight  that  is  hauled  in  London  or  Liverpool  and 
carry  it  to  and  from  the  wagon  or  car.  The  rather  crude  drawing  of  a 
knot  collected  on  Thames  street,  London,  will  help  the  reader  to  see 
that  the  porter  may  use  and  rest  in  turn  the  head,  the  back,  or  either 
shoulder.  The  modern  packing  box  or  barrel,  with  ugly  corners,  nails, 
hoops,  and  hoop  iron,  are  also  kept  from  lacerating  the  flesh.  The  com- 
bined activity  of  these  thousands  of  carriers  by  whose  agency  great 
piles  of  freight  appear  and  disappear  incessantly  reminds  one  of  the 
silent  power  of  those  great  rivers  at  whose  bidding  islands  of  debris 
are  formed  and  carried  away. 
The  bearing  of  burdens  on  the  scapulse  (fig.  Ill),  as  among  the  Eng- 


Fig.  109. 

SUBSTITUTE  FOK  NECK.YOKE  USED  BY  WOMEN  IN 
NOBMANDY. 

From  a  figure  by  Dupre. 


1  "Art  of  the  World,"  D.  Appleton  &,  Co.,  New  York,  p.  76. 


EXPLANATION    OF    PLATE    22. 
MARKET  WOMAN  IN  DRESDEN  SELLING  VEGETABLES. 

The  noteworthy  features  in  this  connection  are: 

(1)  The  wicker  carrying  basket,  strong  and  flexible,  for  the  back. 

(2)  The  knapsack  straps,  made  fast  to  the  upper  edge  of  the  basket  and  buttoned 
at  the  lower  end  under  the  projecting  ends  of  the  frame  posts,  making  it  ]>erfectly 
easy  for  the  woman  to  harness  or  unharness  herself. 

(3)  The  hamper  basket,  with  two  handles,  for  field  work  and  not  for  the  road, 
carried  in  front  of  the  body  or  upon  the  shoulder  or  nape  of  the  neck. 

(4)  The  pack  or  bundle,  easy  to  carry  on  the  arm.  in  the  hand,  or  on  the  shoulder. 
In  this  picture  is  an  example  of  the  most  active  folk  industries  in  one  of  the 

most  enlightened  cities  of  the  world. 

From  a  photograph  in  the  TJ.  S.  National  Museum. 


Report  of  National  Museum,  1894.— Mason. 


PLATE  22. 


MARKET  WOMAN  IN  DRESDEN  SELLING  VEGETABLES. 
From  a  photograph  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum. 


PRIMITIVE   TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


425 


lish  porters,  must  be  very  old,  for  it  was  long  ago  restheticized  in  the 
Atlantides  and  Telamoues,  the  first  term  relating,  doubtless,  to  Atlas, 
who  bore  up  the  vault  of  heaven  on  his  shoulders,  and  the  second  to  the 
Telamoniaii  Ajax.1 

While  the  southern  Europeans  and  the  races  allied  to  them  affect  the 
toting  habit,  the  northern  Europeans,  especially  the  German  race,  carry 
burdens  on  the  back.  The  soldier  and  his  knapsack,  the  peasant,  and 
the  drudgery  woman  with  her  basket  furnish  the  ever  present  picture. 

The  German  carrying  basket  (pi.  22)  is  a  model  of  convenience.  It 
exists  in  many  materials,  sizes,  degrees  of  finish,  and  it  varies  somewhat 
in  form  according  to  special  functions.  But  all  of  them  are  practically 
knapsacks.  The  side  of  the  basket 
next  to  the  carrier's  back  should  be 
somewhat  flat.  The  straps  for  the 
shoulders  are  attached  near  the  top 
of  the  apparatus,  and  they  both  have 
a  loop  or  eyelet  at  the  bottom  to  fit 
over  the  ends  of  the  frame  sticks 
which  project  downward  below  the 
basket  to  receive  them.  These  loops 
and  projections  are  of  the  greatest 
possible  convenience,  for  the  carrier 
does  not  have  to  rise  painfully  with 
her  load.  She  sets  it  upon  any  access- 
ible rock  or  table,  turns  her  back  to 
it,  brings  the  straps  over  her  shoul- 
ders, and  buttons  the  eyelets  over 
the  projections  at  the  bottom  of  the 
basket.  She  has  nothing  more  to  do 
than  to  bend  her  back,  adjust  herself 
to  the  load,  and  walk  off.  Other 
modes  of  carrying  are  in  vogue,  prac- 
tically, every  other,  and  the  mode  here 
described  exists  elsewhere,  but  the 
peaceable  knapsack  is,  after  all,  the  favorite  style  of  burden  bearing  with 
the  Germanic  people.2  In  periodicals  one  will  now  and  then  see  a  picture 
of  a  German  woman  carrying  dirt  in  a  knapsack  basket  up  a  hill,  and 
children  drawing  her  along  by  means  of  a  rope  working  round  a  pulley.3 
The  occasion  of  this  is  as  follows:  The  constant  working  down  hill 
of  the  light  loam  by  farming  and  by  the  rain  impoverishes  the  hilltops. 
In  order  to  enrich  them  again  the  men  carry  the  fertile  dirt  uphill  in 
baskets  on  their  backs  and  the  women  resort  to  the  device  above 


Fijt.  110. 
PORTER'S  KNOT,  AS  SEEN  ON  THAMES  STREET, 

LONDON. 
Cat  No.  131091,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Kdward  Lnrett. 


'Smith,  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities,  8. v.,  Atlantides. 
Cf.  U.  8.  Consular  Report  No.  103,  March,  1889,  p.  431 ;  Mason,  "  Woman's  Share  in 
Primitive  Culture,"  New  York,  1894,  p.  IL'1,  and  "The  Human  Beast  of  Burden," 
Rep.  Smithsonian  Inst.  (U.  S.  Nat.  Mns.),  1887,  p.  285. 

3Zeitschrift  des  Vereius  fur  Volkskunde,  Berlin,  1894,  v,  pi.  i. 


426 


REPORT    OF*    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


spoken  of.  Iii  the  figure  given  by  Miss  Rehsener,  there  is  a  tripod 
shown  oil  the  top  of  the  hill  and  a  pulley  attached  to  the  crossbar. 
One  woman  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  is  filling  a  basket  with  rich  dirt  by 
means  of  a  shovel.  A  long  rope  is  attached  by  one  end  to  the  basket 
on  the  back  of  the  woman.  The  middle  of  the  rope  is  around  the 
pulley,  and  three  children  are  drawing  at  the  other  end.  The  coopera- 
tion in  this  simple  process  is  perfect.  One  basket  is  being  filled,  one 
is  on  the  carrier's  back,  and  a  third  is  being  brought  to  the  starting 
point  by  the  children. 

Example  No.  28155  (tig.  112)  is  a  Lapland  wallet  made  of  spruce  root. 
This  is  a  species  of  network  made  as  follows:  A  two-ply  twine  for 
about  9  inches  forms  the  foundation  along  the  middle  of  the  bottom. 
From  that  point,  as  the  twine  proceeds  in  a  coil,  at  every  turn  one  of  the 

strands  is  extended  or  expanded 
into  a  loop,  which  passes  backward 
around  the  preceding  twine  by  a 
double  twist,  and  then  the  original 
twining  proceeds  for  another  loop 
and  double  turn,  when  strand  num- 
ber two  is  expanded  to  form  the 
next  loop  or  mesh,  and  the  whole 
process  consists  in  twining  and 
alternately  makingboththestrands 
a  loop  around  the  cord  of  the  pre- 
ceding coil.  The  whole  operation 
is  a  process  of  alternate  twist  and 
loop,  making  meshes  about  three- 
fourths  of  an  inch  square.  The 
handle  consists  of  a  three-ply  rope 
made  of  the  same  spruce  root.  One 
single  cord  makes  both  handles 
knotted  on  one  side  to  form  the 
double  loop.  Depth  of  the  basket, 
9  inches. 

This  species  of  twining  and  loop- 
ing is  essentially  hand  work,  and  is 
rather  netting  than  weaving.  That  is,  there  is  no  warp  and  weft,  but 
the  two  are  one,  built  up  mesh  by  mesh  with  the  fingers.  The  wallet 
is  lucl'ul  for  all  carrying  purposes,  being  tough  and  light. 

As  remarked,  the  inelanochroic  peoples  of  Europe,  in  their  devices 
for  carrying,  resemble  the  North  Africans  and  the  Semito  Hamites 
generally.  The  women  carry  loads  on  the  head;  the  men  over  the 
backs  like  peddlers,  or  on  a  shoulder  pole,  as  did  the  ancient  Egyp- 
tians, the  Irish  peasantry,  especially  the  women.  The  writer  has  seen 
a  young  woman  toting  a  pail  of  milk  on  her  head  and  carrying  one 
in  each  hand,  thirty  quarts  in  all,  seemingly  with  great  pleasure. 


Fig.  111. 

MADEIRA  WINE  CARRIER  USING  FOREHEAD,  SHOUL- 
DERS, AND  BACK. 

From  the  Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  ( U.  S.  National 
Museum),  1887. 


PRIMITIVE   TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION. 


427 


The  Greek  aiid  Roman  nniH((  was  a  pole  of  wood  held  oil  oiie  or  both 
shoulders  for  carrying  burdens,  which  were  attached  to  the  two  ends. 
Smith  figures  a  dwarf,  a  grasshopper,  aiid  a  faun,  each  bearing  loads 
therewith,  showing  how  this  drudgery  thing  had  become  a  motif  in  art 
and  mythology.1  In  Greece  the  term  arafpopeos  is  applied  to  every 
carrying  device,  strap,  pole,  yoke,  etc.  This  southern  European  carry- 
ing pole,  however,  is  not  the  English  yoke.  It  may  be  seen  in  hundreds 
of  pictures  of  Egyptian  laborers,  and  has  its  greatest  development  in 
eastern  Asia,  south  of  the  great  divide. 

The  carrying  yoke  laid  on  both  shoulders  or  biceps  is  shown  in  Roman 
art.2  The  Egyptian  clay  and  brick  bearers  seem  to  be  wearing  the  yoke 
after  the  Chinese  fashion. 

The  Greek  na\ado?  was  the  basket  in  which  women  placed  their  work, 
and  is  figured  like 
the  waste  basket  at 
the  office  desk,  a 
truncated  cone  or 
cylinder  of  wicker. 
It  was  also  a  reli- 
gious emblem  and  is 
found  associated 
with  Minerva,  who 
taught  women  the 
art  of  weaving; 
with  Demeter  or 
Ceres,  thegoddessof 
harvest;  withTellus 

and  other  divinities,  as  an  emblem  of  abund- 
ance. It  was  frequently  placed  on  the  heads  of 
divinities  in  ancient  statues,  and  is  thus  called 
modius  by  archaeologists.  Carried  on  the 
heads  of  young  women  in  processions  it  gave 
rise  to  the  Caryatides.11 

The  Roman  ferculum  was  a  platform  on 
which  the  images  of  the  gods  were  carried  in 
procession.  Spoils  ol  war  and  prisoners  were 
borne  in  triumph  on  the  same  device.  On  the 
arch  of  Titus  at  Rome  soldiers  are  figured  as  carrying  the  golden  candle- 
stick of  the  Jews  on  a  ferculum.  * 


112. 


LAPLAND  CAUKYI.Vi-WALLET.  MADE 

OF  SPRUCE  BOOT. 
C»L  No.  WI.V>,  f.  S.  N.  M. 


'Dictionary  of  Greek  ami  Roman  Antiquities,  s.  v.,  Asilla,  with  3  figs. 

•Smith,  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities,  s.  \\,  Corbie,  illus.  from  Her- 
culaneum. 

:  Smith,  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities,  s.  v.,  Calathus,  with  figure 
of  Calathus  on  chariot  and  on  the  head  of  Serapis.  Reference  is  made  to  Saglio's 
Dictionary,  for  description  of  priestesses  wearing  the  Calathus. 

4 Figured  in  Smith's  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities,  s.  v.  Ferculum. 


428  REPORT   OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 

The  enormous  loads  borne  incessantly  on  the  heads  of  women  in  Italy 
are  shown  in  a  painting  by  Gioli,  exhibited  at  the  Art  Exposition  at 
Venice  in  1887.  The  women  are  all  barefooted  and  poorly  clad.  They 
have  immense  bundles  of  brush  upon  their  heads,  and  for  the  double 
purpose  of  staff  and  prop  for  the  load  each  holds  in  the  right  hand  a 
stout  stick. l 

Upon  the  monuments  and  paintings  of  Egypt,  as  well  as  In  the 
scenes  of  modern  life,  carrying  may  be  seen  in  the  following  varieties: 

(1)  On  the  head,  with  or  without  head  Dad:  with  or  without  sup- 
port from  hand  or  arm. 

(2)  Picking  up  and  carrying  bricks  with  both  hands,  in  the  kiln  and 
at  the  building.     The  carriers  are  in  every  attitude,  and  the  study  of 
them  exhibits  excellently  the  versatility  of  the  human  body  in  this 
industry. 

(3)  On  the  shoulder,  in  box  or  tub ;  in  sack,  and  by  means  of  the 
carrying  pole,  like  the  Chinese  coolie. 

(4)  In  the  hand ;  with  satchel,  or  in  the  infinite  variety  seen  about 
the  bazaars. 

The  salver  or  charger  neld  in  the  right  hand,  extended  in  the  presence 
of  gods  and  great  men,  is  one  of  the  commonest  appearances  on  ancient 
monuments.  This  practice  has  a  ceremonial  motive  as  well  as  that  of 
convenience  and  respect.  It  is  not  right  for  a  menial  to  touch  the  food 
of  a  superior,  and  the  ceremonially  unclean  must  not  touch  the  food  of 
those  that  have  been  purified  regardless  of  rank. 

The  form  of  carrying  food  and  drink  on  a  waiter  or  charger  resting 
on  the  two  extended  palms  held  forward,  occurs  again  and  again  on 
Egyptian  mural  paintings  and  sculptures  and  survives  in  the  waiters 
at  most  hotels. 

Montfaucon  has  a  picture  of  men  in  rows  holding  up  and  carrying 
the  throne  of  a  Persian  King  upon  their  uplifted  hands.2 

Herodotus  mentions,  as  an  example  of  the  contrary  ways  of  the 
Egyptians,  that  the  women  carry  burdens  on  the  shoulders  while  the 
men  bear  them  on  the  head.  But  on  the  monuments  even  the  testimony 
of  Herodotus  is  reversed.  And  the  women  of  the  lower  orders  in  our 
day  carry  water  in  large  vessels  on  their  heads.  Now,  as  anciently, 
the  women  do  the  bulk  of  the  carrying.3 

The  methods  of  carrying  in  ancient  and  modern  Egypt  are  those  also 
of  Syria  and  Palestine.  The  multitudes  of  asses  and  camels  in  use  lift 
the  burdens  from  the  heads  of  women  and  from  the  backs  and  shoulders 
of  men,  the  former  for  short  haul,  the  latter  for  long  haul.  Tristram 
speaks  of  the  shepherds  in  Palestine  carrying  lambs  not  only  under  the 
arm,  but  in  the  hood  of  the  abeih,  or  cloak. 


'Mason,  "Woman's  Share  in  Primitive  Culture,"  New  York,  1894,  fig.  36. 
2 "L" Antiquite"  expliqude,"  Paris,  1722,  p.  183,  pi.  n. 

3Lane,  "Modern  Egyptians,"  1846,  I,  p.  267;    Erman,  "Life  in  Ancient  Egypt," 
London,  1894,  pp.  99  and  276. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


429 


For  professional  carrying  and  the  daily  round  of  burden  bearing,  as 
connected  with  the  traiisp(  »rtation  of  water,  two  inventions  are  in  vogue, 
the  pottery  vessel  and  the  skin  bottle.  In  Egypt,  where  the  donkey 
is  also  aquarius,  the  sharp-bottomed  jar  made  to  fit  in  a  saddle  pack 
may  also  be  carried  in  a  sling  on  the  back.  But,  in  the  Holy  Laud,  the 
use  of  the  head  in  carrying  water  necessitates  an  entire  change  in  the 
form  of  the  utensil. 

The  water  skin  is  simply  the  hide  of  the  goat  or  some  other  animal, 
drawn  oft'  with  great  care;  the  openings  all  but  one  are  closed  tight, 
and  straps  added  for  the  convenience  of  the  bearer,  according  to  whether 
he  may  live  in  a  headband  country  or  one  addicted  to  shoulder  or  breast 
straps. 

It  is  a  common  sight  in  Constantinople  to  see  eight  stout  fellows 
carrying  a  tierce  of  wine  by  means  of  two  parallel  poles  (fig.  ll.'i).  The 
tierce  rests  in  two  rope  slings.  Each  end  of  each  rope  is  attached  to  the 
middle  of  a  piece  of  wood,  the  ends  of  which  are  swung  under  both  the 


Fig.  113. 

WINE  BEARERS  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE. 

All  illustration  of  cooperative  carrying. 

From  a  pbotofraph  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum. 

poles.  This  divides  the  load  into  eight  equal  parts.  The  poles  extend 
beyond  the  tierce  at  either  end,  so  that  the  men  have  no  difficulty  in 
walking.  Klsewhere  this  cooperative  carrying  is  still  further  amplified, 
and  its  survival  may  be  seen  at  barn  raisings,  about  shipyards,  found- 
ries, navy-yards,  and  in  handling  ordnance  in  the  open. 

Of  the  Arab  women  about  Mosul,  Layard  says  that  they  looked  after 
their  children,  made  bread,  fetched  water,  cut  and  carried  wood  home 
(»n  their  heads.  They  did  all  the  weaving,  struck  and  raised  the  tents, 
loaded  and  unloaded  the  beasts  of  burden  when  they  changed  camp, 
drove  cattle  to  pasture  and  milked  them  at  night.  When  moving,  they 
carried  the  children  on  the  back  as  well  as  when  about  the  daily  toil. 
The  weight  of  the  large  sheep  or  goat  skin  filled  with  water  is  consid- 
erable. It  is  hung  on  the  back  by  cords  strapi>ed  over  the  shoulders, 
ami  upon  it  was  frequently  a  child  unable  to  follow  the  mother  afoot. 
The  bundles  of  firewood  brought  from  alar  were  enormous,  concealing 


430 


REPORT   OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 


head  and  shoulders  of  the  bearer.  The  author  speaks  of  one  athletic 
girl,  Hadla,  who,  having  finished  the  task  imposed  by  her  mother, 
would  assist  her  neighbors  for  pastime.1  A  good  picture  of  such  an 
athlete  would  in  art  stand  for  the  genius  of  work.  Emil  Schmidt  fig- 
ures the  Tamil  women  of  southern  India  carrying  loads  upon  their 
heads,  at  the  same  time  bearing  their  children  upon  the  arm  and 
the  hip.2 

The  following  kinds  of  carriers  appear  on  the  black  obelisk  of 
Shalmaneser:  (1)  With  hands  held  out  in  front;  (2)  with  hamper  held 
in  both  hands  in  front;  (3)  with  wallet  in  right  hand  and  sack  held  on 
left  shoulder  with  left  hand,  most  common ;  (4)  with  load  held  aloft  over 
head  in  two  hands;  (5)  with  bundle  of  rods  hugged  in  both  arms;  (6) 
with  load  held  on  shoulder  in  sack,  like  the  wharf  porter;  (7)  two  men 

with  pole  between  them  on  the 
shoulder,  load  swinging;  (8) 
with  lead  and  driven  camels ; 
(9)  with  box  or  pack  on  the 
shoulder.  No  one  is  using 
headband,  breast  strap,  knap- 
sack straps,  or  any  other  de- 
vice for  fastening  the  load. 

On  the  Chaldean  and  As- 
syrian monuments  the  divers- 
ity of  carrying  is  well  shown. 
For  example :  ( 1 )  The  bearing 
of  fans,  fly  brushes,  umbrellas, 
food,  and  drink  before  gods 
and  princes;  (2)  the  sack  over 
either  shoulder ;  (3)  the  satchel 
in  the  right  or  the  left  hand ; 

(4)  the  shield  on  either  arm; 

(5)  bow  in  left,  arrows  in  right 
hand,  great  shield  supported 

on  the  back ;  (6)  all  sorts  of  loads  borne  on  the  head,  two  men  with 
carrying  pole,,  the  load  above,  between,  or  below  the  supports. 

In  the  figures  of  Kouyuujik  gallery  the  men  are  building  a  mound, 
carrying  earth  in  baskets  on  their  backs.  The  lower  tier  of  men  are  run- 
ning down  hill  with  empty  baskets.  In  the  photographs  in  the  U.  S. 
National  Museum  none  of  the  groups  show  the  endless-chain  method  of 
passing  light  objects  along  a  line  of  men  and  women.  The  Polynesians 
practiced  such  economy.  In  the  Hawaiian  legend  of  the  Royal  Hunch- 
back it  is  related  that  on  the  arrival  of  Pili  in  the  islands,  Paao,  the 
high  priest,  removed  with  him  to  Kohala.  At  Puuepa  he  erected  a 
large  heiau,  the  stones  of  which  were  passed  from  hand  to  hand  a  dis- 


Fig.  114. 

GABBIER  WITH  WATER  SKIN,  FILTER,  AND  BOTTLE. 

From  a  photograph  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum. 


'Layard,  "Nineveh  and  its  Remains,"  New  York,  1849,  p.  29L 
8  Schmidt,  "Reise  nach  Sudindien,/'  Leipzig,  1894,  p.  10. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


431 


tauce  of  0  miles.1  "MacRitchie  mentions  a  similar  custom  among  the 
Picts.  It  was  in  vogue  hot  many  years  ago  at  fires  in  villages,  and  in 
the  Southern  States  watermelons  and  other  fruits  and  fruit  packages 
are  handed  along  for  considerable  distances. 

The  use  of  the  hides  of  animals  in  raising,  carrying,  and  holding  of 
liquids  is  confined  chiefly  To  the  Caucasian  race,  and  is  especially  seen 
in  their  Mediterranean,  Asiatic,  and  African  areas  (fig.  114).  The  goat's 
skin  is  particularly  chosen  because  of  its  size  and  its  texture.  The  hide 
is  drawn  oft'  with  as  few  openings  as  possible;  these  are  tied  up  and 
calked  and  a  harness  of  leather  is  attached  for  carrying,  suspending, 
and  emptying.  In  the  illustra- 
tion here  given  the  skin  Is 
brought  into  proximity  with  the 
jar  that  in  its  form  succeeds 
the  goatskin  in  some  lands. 
By  comparing  the  harness  with 
that  of  the  Mexican  aguador 
and  others  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  strap  for  dumping,  which 
is  absolutely  necessary  in  the 
skin,  survives  as  of  doubtful 
utility  on  the  jar.2 

In  tlte  Kig  Veda  leather  water 
bottles,  like  those  in  use  at  this 
day,  are  mentioned. 

India,  southern  Asia,  and  the 
Malayo- Polynesian  islands  may 
be  considered  seriatim  on  the 
notion  of  contiguity,  regardless 
of  race  and  environment.  The 
carrying  pole  or  Hindu  bawjliy 
is  omnipresent.  Here  a  load  on 
the  hinder  end  is  sustained  by 
the  hand  in  front.  There  the 
man  in  the  middle  sustains  the 
pole  with  a  load  on  either  end, 
and  in  a  t  hird  view,  the  load  is 
in  the  middle  and  there  is  a  man  at  each  end.  Other  changes  are  rung 
on  each  of  these.  The  methods  of  attaching  the  load  to  the  poles  are 
quite  as  numerous. 

Example  No.  27<»1.'J  (fig.  11-T>)  is  an  elaborate  carrying  apparatus  pre- 
sented by  the  King  of  Siam.  It  consists  of  a  pole  and  two  baskets. 
Each  end  of  the  pole  pierces  a  basket  from  side  to  side,  holes  having 
been  provided  for  this  purpose.  The  material  of  the  structure  is  split 
rattan  done  in  wickerwork.  Cords  are  provided  for  packing  the  load 


11.".. 


M  \.MKSK    WK-KKR    CABBYING-BASKET8.     BORNE     IX    PAIRS 
WITH  SHOULDER  POLE. 

r  ,t.  X...  27tll:t.  I',  s.  X.  M.     Prraented  by  the  King  of  Siam,  thitmnh  Grn. 
John  A.  Halderman. 


1  K:il:ik:iu;i,  '•  l.r^ciids  ;unl  M\  tlis  <>f  Hawaii/'  New  York,  1888,  Webster. 
Efa   .ilso  Kep.  SiiiitliH.mian  lust.  ({'.  S.  Nat.  Mus.),  1887,  p.  284,  tiff-  **• 


432 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


and  blocks  of  wood  are  attached  to  the  bottom  of  each  hamper  to  pro- 
tect the  weaving. 

With  this  may  be  compared  a  precisely  similar  fashion  from  the  Sand- 
wich Islands.  A  photograph  in  the  TJ.  S.  National  Museum  repre- 
sents a  Kanaka  carrying  two  bundles  after  the  manner  of  the  Siamese, 
having  thrust  through  each  one  of  them  an  end  of  his  carrying  pole 
(fig.  116). 

The  U.  S.  National  Museum  possesses  a  number  of  immense  gourds 
holding  each  several  gallons,  the  gift  of  Mrs.  Sybil  Carter.  In  the 
absence  of  all  pottery  from  the  entire  Polynesian  area  these  gourds 

are  the  universal  receptacle  of 
things  to  be  carried,  clean  or 


Fig.  116. 

CARRYING  POLE. 

Sandwich  Inlander  carrying  two  bales  by  means  of  a 
shoulder  pole. 

From  H  photograph  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum. 


Fig.  117. 

PRIMITIVE  SHOULDER  POLK. 

Burmese  boy  carrying  Jack  fruit  (Artocarpus 
integrifolia), 

From  a  photograph  by  Rev.  H.  M.  Luther. 


unclean,  liquid  or  solid.  On  the  testimony  of  travelers  and  mission- 
aries these  gourds  are  slung  in  network  and  suspended  from  each  end  of 
the  carrying  pole.  Wilkes  says  that  the  people  are  so  wedded  to  this 
method  of  burden  bearing  as  to  use  stones  to  balance  the  weights  in 
the  two  packages.  The  stick  is  made  of  the  Hibiscus  tiliaceus,  used 
also  by  the  Kanaka  in  creating  fire  by  the  plowing  method.  Covers 
of  gourd  are  sometimes  fitted  over  the  bottom  ones  to  prevent  the  rain 
from  wetting  the  contents.  The  gait  of  the  carrier  is  a  quick  trot,  with 
short  steps. 

The  U.  S.  National  Museum  is  indebted  to  Eev.  R.  M.  Luther  for 
the  description  and  photograph  of  the  most  primitive  form  of  the 
carrying  pole  and  double  load  from  Burma.  A  Karen  boy  is  return- 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


433 


ing  home  with  two  jack  finite  attached  to  a  stem  of  the  same  tree.  (Fig. 
117.)  The  drawing  fails  to  show  that  t  lie  fruits  are  adhering  to  the  orig- 
inal stein,  but  in  fact  they  are,  and  this  is  tin-  last  analysis  of  the  shoulder 
pole  in  which  the  stick,  the  perpendicular  strings,  and  the  weights  are 
in  one  piece  made  by  nature. 

Weights  are  never  carried  on  tin-  head  by  the  Nicobarese,  but  are 
invariably  slung  on  a  stick  or  jK>le  and  borne  over  the  shoulder.  A 
woman  may  occasionally  be  seen  carrying  on  her  head  for  a  few  yards, 
from  her  hut  to  the  jungle,  a  basket  containing  a  light  load  of  pandanus 
drupes,  but  this  is  the  only  in- 
stance in  which  anything  is  borne 
on  the  head.  As  they  are  not  in 
the  habit  of  distressing  them- 
selves by  taxing  their  powers  of 
endurance,  the  distance  that  a 
man  or  woman  will  carry  a  maxi- 
mum load  without  a  rest  rarely, 
if  ever,  exceeds  a  few  hundred 
yards;  in  fact,  it  would  appeal- 
that,  though  the  physical  powers 
of  the  average  Nicobarese  exceed 
those  of  the  average  Bnrinan  or 
Malay,  there  are  many  tasks  per 
formed  by  the  latter  from  which 
the  former  would  shrink  as  irk- 
some and  fatiguing.1 

Example  No.  164745  (fig.  118) 
is  a  carrying  basket  from  .Tarawa, 
Andaman  Islands,  the  gift  of  Eu- 
rico Giglioli.    The 
texture    of     this 
specimen  is  a  re- 
markable    study. 
It  should  be  com 
pared    with     the 
Mohave    carrying 
basket  from  south  - 
western  Arizona.2 

The  upper  rim  is  a  rigid  hoop.  From  this  depend  bamboo  rods,  doubled 
in  the  middle  and  attached  to  the  hoops  by  their  ends.  These  doubled 
rods  cross  at  the  bottom  as  the  meridians  do  at  the  pole,  in  such  manner 
as  to  lay  the  foundation  for  an  inverted  cone.  I  Jet  ween  these  rods  deptfnd 
subsidiary  and  smaller  ones,  reaching  down  not  quite  to  the  bottom  and 


Fin.  118. 
WOMAN'S  CABRYINO-BA.KKKT,  FROM  THK  ANDAMAN  ISLANDS. 

CM.  No.  1M745,  V.  S.  If.  M.     Collected  by  K.  II    M  ,  „      i.,lt  ..ri'r.il.  Run...  <inln.li. 


•E.  H.  Man,  Journ.  Anthrop.  Ingt.,  London,  1889,  xvm,  p.  376. 
'Rep.  Smithsonian  Inst.  (I1.  8.  Nat.  Mus.),  1887,  p.  264,  :m<l  Third  Ann.  Hep.  Kureao 
of  Ethnology,  p.  403. 

H.  Mis.  90,  pt.  2 28 


434 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


forming  the  warp  of  a  weave  soon  to  be  described.  The  weft  of  the 
basket  is  a  continuous  splint  of  bamboo  passing  round  and  round  out- 
side the  warp  and  wrapped  once  around  the  warp  rods  as  each  one  is 
passed,  crossing  the  subsidiary  rods  without  winding  around  them. 
This  wrapped  style  of  weaving  is  seen  also  in  some  impressions  left  on 
mound  pottery,  and  in  specimens  from  the  Lake  Dwellings.  It  reaches 
its  modern  expression  in  wire  gauze,  where  both  elements  are  equally 
flexible,  and  a  two-ply  twine  at  the  joint  is  the  result. 

Further  detail  of  the  weaving  is  necessary.  The  subsidiary  vertical 
rods  are  crossed  by  the  weft  splints  and  are  held  to  them  by  a  third 

and  still  smaller  splint  coiled  or 
seized  so  as  to  make  one  turn  about 
each  crossing  of  warp  and  weft. 
This  style  exists  in  its  highest  per 
fection  in  Vancouver  Island  and 
Washington  State,  and  is  most 
skillfully  combined  with  twined 
weaving  by  the  Yokaia  Indians  of 
central  California. 

The  fastening  off  of  the  warp 
rods  at  the  bordering  hoop  is 
worthy  of  study.  The  little  subsidi- 
ary rods  are  fastened  by  a  double 
loop,  as  may  be  seen  on  snowshoes 
and  in  hundreds  of  other  objects. 

The  main  warp  rods  are  cham- 
fered or  whittled  away  thin  so  that 
the  hoop  may  rest  solidly  on  their 
tops,  and  the  remaining  splint  is 
wrapped  around  the  hoop  and  then 
makes  a  half  hitch  about  it,  first  on 
the  right  then  on  the  left  of  the  rod 
two  or  three  times,  producing  a  firm 
and  ornamental  joint. 

Example  No.  73386  (fig.  11!))  is  a 
carrying  net  from  New  Guinea,  consisting  of  a  network  of  stout  cord 
attached  to  a  pole  bent  in  the  form  of  a  pointed  oval  or  broad  snowshoe. 
This  is  to  be  filled  with  portable  objects  and  borne  on  the  shoulder  or 
back  and  not  on  the  head  or  carrying  pole.  The  method  is  more  nearly 
allied  to  the  African  methods  of  the  Kongo.  There  are  also  tribes  in 
the  interior  basin  of  the  United  States  that  carry  in  nets. 

Powell  says  of  the  negroid  women  of  New  Britain  that  they  cany  on 
their  backs  two  or  three,  cocoanut  bags  full  of  merchandise. 

The  water  carriers  of  Port  Moresby,  New  Guinea,  are  women  (fig.  120). 
They  wear  skirts  of  fringed  leaf,  dyed  a  reddish  brown.  They  make  a 
globe-shaped  vessel,  which  they  carry  very  gracefully  on  the  shoulder 


Fig.  119. 

CARRYING-NET  AND  FRAME  VROM  NEW  Ol'INEA 
Cat.  No.  73386,  IF.  S.  N.  M.      Collected  by  A.   l>.  (ioo.lwin. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


435 


well  around  on  their  necks,  using  the  right  hand  to  grasp  it  by  the  mouth 
and  hold  it  steady.  A  small  gourd  is  used  in  filling  tin*  vessel.  In  some 
areas  on  the  Kongo,  where  the  hair  of  the  people  is  bushy  ami  \voolly 
and  the  coiffure  is  a  matter  of  pride,  this  method  of  setting  the  round- 
bottomed  water  jar  on  the  shoulder  is  to  be  seen. 

The  Philippine  Islanders  are  a  composite  people  of  Negrito,  Malay, 
and  Sinitic  elements,  existing  in  all  varieties  of  mixture.  These  Indone- 
sians make  pottery, and  carry  water  therein.  The  round  bottomed  vase 
is  made  to  harmonize  with  the  delicate  and  slightly  pilose  head  by  means 
of  the  headband,  consisting  of 
a  scarf  or  sash  deftly  rolled  up. 
In  a  collection  of  photographs 
made  by  Consul  A.  R.  Webb  the 
women  are  shown  in  various 
attitudes  of  holding,  placing, 
poising,  and  removing  the  jar 

(figs.  121  and  1  ±2).  l\BF  V  '"IVl  ill       \ 

In  this  connection  it  is  not  \\IU\llH  Jl  llj«LLJUl,t  i  \\i 
difficult  to  understand  how  art 
is  the  glorification  not  of  nature 
alone,  but  of  industry.  These 
caryatides  have  for  their  motive 
not  some  natural  object,  but  a 
common  human  experience. 

i:\ample  No.  74506  (tig.  ll'3)  is 
a  carrying  stick  of  bamboo,  with 
baskets  of  bamboo.  The  pole  is 
a  piece  of  split  bamboo,  wider  in 
the  middle  and  notched  at  the 
ends  to  prevent  the  slipping  of 
the  load.  The  baskets  of  this 
particular  specimen  are  rather  elaborately  made  of  whole  and  split 
stalks,  and  paneled  with  the  same  materials.  The  inside  is  provided 
with  cleats,  on  which  shelves  or  drawers  may  slide,  for  holding  and 
serving  a  number  of  dishes.  The  special  treatment  of  the  bamboo  in 
making  fast  joints  without  nails  or  lashing  will  be  better  shown  in  the 
carrying  chair  from  China,  illustrated  in  this  paper  (tig.  2li9). 

Ivxample  No.  54174  (tig.  LU4)  is  part  of  a  carrying  apparatus  made  of 
two  bent  bamboo  splints,  with  a  latticed  tlooron  which  to  set  the  load. 
This  and  the  specimen  just  before  described  were  the  gift  of  the  Chinese 
Centennial  Commission.  It  would  be  impossible  to  describe  and  figure 
the  practically  endless  variety  of  inventions  in  China  for  the  ut.ili/ation 
<>t  the  shoulder  pole.  The  bamboo  also  is  a  great  blessing,  since  it 
lends  itself  to  the  inventor's  mind  with  a  plasticity  almost  equal  to 
that  of  clay  and  with  a  toughness,  according  to  weight,  that  can  not 
be  excelled  by  any  other  material. 


Fig.  120. 

PAPUAN  WOMBN  CARRYINO  JARS  ON  THE  8HOULDKR. 


i  lh<-  U. 


Viti, 


:.l  Mil 


436 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 


Dr.  K.  N.  Graves,  long  time  missionary  in  China,  contributes  the 
following  notes  on  the  Chinese  carrying  trade  in  general : 

The  carrying  poles  of  the  Chinese  coolies  are  of  stout  bamboo,  about  6  feet  long, 
or  they  use  a  pole  of  smooth,  strong,  flexible  wood,  about  2  inches  broad  by  1  thick, 
a  long  ellipse  in  section.  A  peg  at  each  end,  and  the  stick  being  somewhat  widened, 
prevents  the  ropes  or  rattan  slings  from  falling  off.  They  shift  the  burden  from  one 
shoulder  to  another  by  means  of  the  staff',  and  never  use  a  yoke  resting  on  both 
shoulders,  as  is  seen  in  Europe.  The  skin  on  the  shoulders  becomes  thickened  and 
hardened,  but  not  infrequently  becomes  sore  and  galled.  They  are  truly  beasts  of 
burden. 


Fig.  121. 

PHILIPPINE   WOMAN   "TOTING"   WATER. 
From  a  photograph  by  Consul  Alexander  R.  Wehb. 


Fig.  122. 

PHILIPPINE  WOMAN  LIFTING  JAR  FROM  THE  HKAI). 
From  a  photograph  l>y  Consul  Alrjtnniler  R.  Webb. 


As  to  the  rate  of  travel  and  annual  amount  of  goods  carried,  no  definite  informa- 
tion can  be  given.  Most  of  the  carrying  is  between  the  villages  and  towns  15  or  20 
miles  away  and  shorter  distances.  Formerly,  before  the  opening  of  the  Yang  Tze 
to  foreign  trade,  a  great  deal  of  tea  was  brought  across  the  mountains  from  the  cen- 
tral provinces,  several  days' journey,  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Canton  River,  but 
this  is  discontinued.  Most  of  the  merchandise  in  .South  China  is  carried  for  long 
distances  by  the  waterways.  In  the  more  thinly  settled  hills  and  mountainous 
districts  it  is  carried  on  men's  shoulders. 

The  Chinese  wheelbarrow  (fig.  125)  is,  in  fact,  a  camel  or  donkey  pack- 
saddle  witli  its  balanced,  two-sided  load.  The  wheel  and  the  coolie's 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


437 


legs  are  the  locomotory  part  of  tin-  device.  If  the  wheel  be  removed, 
the  two  sides  of  the  burden  would  tit  over  the  back  of  any  park  beast 
and  the  track  need  not  be  widened.  The  Chinese  do  not  at  present 
extensively  use  this  mode  of  transportation  except  in  the  cities,  but 
the  Tibetans  employ  both  the  yak  and  the  horse.  The  eamcl  is  not  far 
distant  on  the  northwest,  and  in  the  Chinese  tribute  -pictures  horses, 
asses,  camels,  elephants,  and  pack  reindeer  are  seen.  Hereabouts  there 
a  re  two  other  examples  of  the  beginning  of  t  he  wheel.  The  Kaschkir  cra- 
dle in  Orenburg,  Kussia,  with  two  little  wooden  block  wheels,  is  tigured 
by  Pokrowski.  The  Korean 
carrying  chair  has  often  be- 
neath it  a  single  wheel,  a 
very  laborious  device  for  tak 
ing  a  load  from  the  back  of 
an  animal  instead  of  putting 
it  on.1  In  the  exaltation  of 
the  royal  person,  ceremony 
decides  the  form  of  the  vein 
cle.  In  the  freight  and  pas- 
senger barrow  of  the  Chinese 
there  is  no  social  distinction 
created  between  passenger 
and  barrow  man. 

The  women  of  western  Tibet 
are  healthy  and  hardy,  and 
carry  weights  of  00  pounds 
over  the  passes.  They  wear 
shoes  of  felt  and  of  straw. 

The  Tibetans  are  very 
quick  over  their  work.  Each 
time  they  raise  a  heavy  load 
they  force  out  the  air  from 
their  lungs  by  a  vigorous  hiss. 
They  handle  great  weights 
with  considerable  ease,  for 
their  arms,  though  not  muscular,  are  tough  and  set  in  solid  shoulders, 
which  are  supported  by  deep  necks,  the  length  of  their  forearm  being 
remarkable.  Lamas,  stick  in  hand,  give  their  orders  and  reprimand 
them;  but  these  savages  do  their  work  cheerfully  and  are  obedient  and 
respectful  to  the  lamas,  to  whom  they  listen  in  the  most  humble  pos- 
ture, witli  back  bent  and  hanging  tongue/1 

The  Aino  usually  carry  burdens  by  means  of  a  In-aided  band  of  the 
bark  of  ohiyo  (  Ulmus  montana). 


Fig.  123. 


ClllNr.SK    CAKKYINVi-HASKKTS    AND    SIIOCI.IIKK- 

BAMBOO. 

Ho,   74,'iOt;,  r.  s.  N.  M.      Gift  of  the-  Chinene   (VnirnniH 
Philadelphia,  !«;••.. 


'Pokrowski,  Revue  d' Ethnographic,  1889,  p.  34. 
-Bishop,  -'Among  the  Tibetans,"  Chicago,  18!M,  p.  II. 
3Bonvalot,  "Across  Tibet,"  New  York,  1892,  Cassell,  p.  270. 


438 


REPORT    OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


Example  No.  22254  (fig.  126)  shows  the  manlier  in  which  this  elaborate 
contrivance  is  constructed.  Hough  figures  one  of  them  in  use  (pi.  23), 
and  says  that  these  bands,  called  tara  or  pickni -tara,  are  also  employed 
to  sustain  the  babe  upon  the  back.  Sometimes  the  two  ends  of  the 
headband  are  tied  to  the  ends  of  a  stick  resting  on  the  lumbar  region, 
and  upon  this  the  burden  rests.  The  Korean  extends  the  ends  of  the 
stick,  and  then  has  a  kind  of  yoke  resting  on  the  lower  part  of  his 
back.  The  Aino  women  make  constant  use  of  the  tara.  They  carry 
heavy  loads  with  them,  and  even  bring  large  tubs  of  water  to  their 
homes.1 

Example  No.  22254  is  a  carrying  band  collected  in  Yokohama  by  the 
Hon.  3*.  S.  Lyman.  A  similar  specimen,  collected  by  Wilkes  on  the 

northwest   coast   of   America,   is 
unfortunately  labeled  Africa.2 

Prof.  E.  S.  Morse  speaks  in  the 
greatest  praise  of  Japanese  backs, 
both  as  to  their  strength  and  flexi- 
bility. This  people  also  are  expert 
in  the  hexagonal  weaving  of  carry- 
ing devices  in  bamboo  splints. 
This  enables  them  to  produce  a 
receptacle  (fig.  127)  which  combines 
perfectly  the  strength  and  light 
ness  that  are  needed.  The  same 
hexagonal  plan  of  weaving  exists 
in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  upon 
specimens  of  snowshoes  in  Canada 
and  cedar-bark  wallets  of  south- 
eastern Alaska  and  British  Colum- 
bia, but  nowhere  on  basketry  in 
rig.  124.  America  south  of  the  Canadian 


CHINESE  CAKKYIXG-CRATE. 


Cat.  No.  W1T4,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Gift  of  the  Chinese  Centennial  < 
mission,  Philadelphia,  1876. 


line  and  east  of  the  coast  range. 

The  Japanese  also  have  bor- 
rowed from  China  the  shoulder 
pole  or  stick  of  bamboo  for  all  sorts  of  short-distance  carrying  (fig.  128). 
The  exigencies  of  Japanese  commerce  do  not  demand  the  extensive 
coolie  system.  The  epoch  of  the  human  back,  however,  was  at  its 
climax  when  the  islands  were  first  visited.  The  people  were  singularly 
devoid  of  beasts  of  burden.  In  the  figures  from  life  here  reproduced  the 
clever  tricks  for  using  the  pole  are  made  manifest,  for  in  such  matters 
the  Japanese  are  extremely  ingenious.  Owing  to  a  climate  not  at  all 
rigorous,  the  professional  carriers  are  not  overclad. 

Example  No.  73093  (fig.  129)  is  a  carrying  frame  from  the  province  of 
Tate  Yama,  Japan,  collected  by  P.  L.  Jouy.     It  is  a  ladder  or  frame- 


1  Cf.  Rep.  Smithsonian  lust.  (U.  S.  Nat.  Mus.),  1890,  p.  464,  pi.  cv. 
Cf.  Rep.  Smithsonian  Inst.  (U.  S.  Nat.  Mus.),  1887,  p.  287,  fig.  42. 


EXPLANATION    OF    PLATE    23. 
KOREAN  PEDDLERS. 

The  one  on  the  left  hand  with  the  rectangular  box  is  a  seller  of  confectionery  and 
small  articles,  his  load  resting  against  his  body  in  front  and  supported  by  a  strap 
or  band  hung  from  the  nape  of  the  neck.  This  method  of  carrying  is  universal 
among  hawkers  of  small  ware,  and  is  said  to  be  omnipi'esent  in  Korea. 

The  carrier  to  the  right  wears  the  knapsack  frame  supported  on  the  back  by 
shoulder  straps  or  braces. 


Report  of  National  Museum,  1894.  —Mason. 


PLATE  23. 


KOREAN  PEDDLERS. 

Hough,  "The  Bernadou.  Allen,  and  .Tony  Korean  Collections  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum, 
PL  VI.  Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  (U.  S.  National  Museum),  1891. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


439 


work  of  \vood,  not  unlike  that  of  some  American  Indian  cradles.     To 
render  the  framework  soft  to  the  bark  and   to  hold  it  in  place,  it  is 


Fitf.125.  ^   % 

(  I1INKSK    HAKIiOW    nil    DOUBLE   SHOlT.DKK-rACK.    MOITKTKI)    ON    A     Will  1.1. 
Krnni  .,  iihiituiniph  tn  tin-  1'.  S.  N:IIHIN;I|  >lii~riini. 

entirely  wrapped  and  concealed  in   a   continuous   sennit  or  braid  of 
straw.     The  arm  bands  are  of  the  same  material  and  are  braided  like 


JAI'AXKSE    IIKADHAMi    AMI    <  'AKK  VIM  .- 1:<  H'K.    IIIIAIIlKli    AM)    WllVKX. 
I'.il.  No.  «•.-.':•».  I      -.   V   M.      C..llf.-t.-il  l.v  II. ill.   II    S.  I..VIIIBII. 

a  whip-lash,  thickest  where  the  pad  is  needed.  These  bands  are  to  be 
worn  knapsack  fashion,  and  are  tied  by  their  extremities  to  the  wooden 
framework.  The  lashing  for  the  load  is  ,ilso  of  sennit. 


440 


REPORT    OP    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


The  Tate  Yama  carrying  rack  or  ladder  appears  in  Korea  without  the 
wrapping  of  sennit,  but  with  pieces  framed  in  near  the  bottom  pointing 
outward  at  right  angles  to  form  a  shelf  like  that  on  the  glass  peddler's 
frame.  A  staff  or  rest  may  be  attached  to  enable  the  carrier  to  relieve 
his  back  without  setting  the  burden  on  the  ground.  (Fig.  1.30.)  Hitch- 
cock brought  from  the  Aino  country  photographs  of  a  precisely  similar 
device.  It  is  worn  knapsack  fashion,  which  refers  the  reader  to  Japan.1 
The  carrying  pole  in  Korea  (fig.  131)  is  not  always  used  on  the  shoul- 
der, but  after  a  fashion  that 
recalls  two  or  three  inven- 
tions in  different  areas.  The 
pole  rests  on  the  lower  back 
and  is  suspended  from  a 
band  attached  to  its  mid- 
dle and  passing  up  under 
one  arm,  over  the  shoulder, 
back  of  the  neck,  down  in 
front  of  the  other  shoulder, 
and  back  to  the  starting 
point.  Children  in  England 
and  America  harness  one 
another  thus  in  playing 
horse;  but  this  is  the  only 
example  known  to  the  author 
where  the  scheme  is  in 
serious  use.  Hooks  are  sus- 
pended from  the  ends  of  the 
pole,  and  from  these  hang 
jars  slung  neatly  in  splints. 
The  detachable  feature  of 
the  sling  on  the  jar  is  also 
quite  original,  as  will  be 
noted  in  Carles's  figure.2 

From  Carles  it  is  also  seen 
that  the  order  of  transpor- 
tation is  sometimes  reversed 
in  Korea,  in  that  the  woman 
may  carry  merchandise  on  the  head  and  the  man  become  packer  for 
merchandise  and  passenger-bearer  at  the  same  time,  using  the  double 
bandolier  (fig.  132). 

Example  No.  150768  is  a  carrying  band  and  seat  from  Shikotan,  in 
the  island  of  Yezo,  collected  by  Romyn  Hitchcock.  It  is  used  by 
women  for  carrying  children  on  their  backs.  The  apparatus  consists 
of  two  parts — a  woven  band  which  passes  over  the  chest  of  the  bearer, 

>Cf.  Carles,  "  Life  in  Korea/'  New  York,  1894,  MacmiJlaii  &.  Co.,  p.  67. 
*  Ibid.,  p.  30. 


Fig.  127. 

JAPANESE  CARRYING-BASKET  WITH   SHOULDER-STRAPS. 

Illustration  of  hexagonal  weaving. 

From  a  photograph  in  the  IT.  S.  National  Museum. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


441 


to  each  end  of  which  a  line  is  attached,  and  a  slightly  curved  wooden 
seat,  to  the  ends  of  which  the  line  is  made  fast  The  child  sits  on  the 
seat  as  in  a  swing,  and  its  feet  straddle  the  hips  of  the  mother.1 
(See  fig.  133.) 

Among  the  causes  tli.it  have  produced  pluck  and  physical  strength  in 
men, perhaps  the  carrying  trade  is  preeminent.  The  pick,  the  hammer, 
the  plane,  develop  muscle.  Art,  commercial  pursuits,  and  the  enjoy- 
ments of  life  usually  render  men  delicate.  The  toughening  of  the  legs 
and  back  and  arms,  the  development  of  lung  and  heart  power,  and  the 
ability  to  endure  winter's  cold  as  well  as  summer's  heat  come  from  the 
carrying  and  traveling  industry. 

So  far  we  have  been  in  the  land  of  the  professional  carrier,  where 
men  have  been  compelled  to  transport  burdens  and  to  haul  loads  profes- 
sionally. 


Vig.IV. 

.      JAI'ANKSK    CAKKIKK.     WITH    >ll')l   l.lll  ,K   !•(  )|.l ;    ANH    IJlADS. 
Kr.in,  :,  |.li,,t,,nr.,|.t,   in  the  I  .  S.  National  M»s.-u,n. 

Coming  to  the  American  continent,  the  reader  will  still  be  witness  to 
a  great  deal  of  heavy  drudgery  in  this  department,  but  the  human  back 
is  greatly  relieved  by  the  fact  that  few  of  the  industries  of  this  conti- 
nent were  in  the  world's  great  streams  of  progress  before  Columbus, 
and  therefore  the  amount  of  burden  bearing  was  restricted  to  limited 
culture  areas.  It  is  fitting  at  this  point,  and  speaking  of  this  enormous 
amount  of  professional  carrying,  to  take  into  consideration  the  effect 
of  this  successive  work  upon  the  bodies  of  men. 

Dr.  Robert  Fletcher  calls  my  attention  to  the  fact  that  studies  in 
this  line  have  been  instituted  by  the  French  Government  upon  what  is 
called  "  1'homme  moteur  "  by  Dr.  Bessy,  of  Toulouse.  Dr.  Fletcher  refers 


'Rep.  Smiths.miau  lust.  (U.  8.  Nat.  Mua.),  1890,  p.  4l'U,  tig.  67. 


442 


REPORT   OF    NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 


to  the  enormous  amount  of  work  done  by  man  power,  especially  in  times 
of  war.  It  seems  that  the  railroad  hands  at  Toulouse  had  made  com- 
plaint of  being  compelled  to  carry  on  the  back  bags  of  Hour  weighing 
from  100  to  122  kilos  (say,  240  pounds)  from  the  car  to  the  quay,  a  dis- 
tance of  21  meters,  on  uneven  ground,  continuously.  One  man  made 
twelve  trips,  but  at  the  last  one  broke  down  and  was  unable  afterwards 
to  work. 

Dr.  Bezy  found  that  the  railroad  companies  had  not  used  the  dyna- 
mometer in  examining  men  for  the  work,  and,  furthermore,  the  following 
interesting  results  were  obtained.  A  man  weighing  85  kilos  can  walk 

on  a  horizontal  road  at  the  rate  of 
1.50  meters  per  second  for  a  space 
of  ten  hours.  A  traveler  with  his 
baggage  on  his  back  can  carry  40 
kilos  at  the  rate  of  0.75  meters  per 
second  for  seven  hours.  A  porter, 
carrying  a  load  on  his  back  and 
returning  empty  handed  for  a  fresh 
load,  can  carry  55  kilos  at  the  rate 
of  0.50  meters  per  second  for  six 
hours. 

Dr.  Fletcher  also  calls  the  au- 
thor's attention  to  Quetelet's  table 
of  the  standard  of  lifting  strength 
to  the  rule  that  a  man  should  not 
carry  a  load  greater  than  his  own 
weight. 

Excessive  carrying  is  made  more 
injurious  by  increasing  the  time,  or 
age,  or  speed,  or  roughness  of  the 
path,  or  by  decreasing  nutrition. 

On  passing  northward  into  east- 
ern Siberia  the  student  comes  upon 
the  pack  reindeer,  the  sledge  rein- 
deer, and  the  dog.  Women  have 
their  own  fashions  of  carrying  chil- 
dren, as  will  be  seen  later;  but 
men  are  too  much  burdened  with  clothing,  and  relief  is  too  near  at  hand 
for  them  to  continue  the  old-time  slavery  of  the  back. 

The  Eskimo  in  carrying  loads  use  the  band  across  the  forehead  as 
well  as  across  the  breast.  Having  their  little  hand  sledges,  they  are 
given  more  to  traction  than  to  carrying.  The  women  have  strong 
backs,  and  upon  them  falls  the  duty  of  burden-bearing.  In  the  "Cruise 
of  the  Corwin"  is  an  account  of  a  woman  who,  by  rolling  and  the  use 
of  her  boat,  succeeded  in  transporting  an  anchor  stone  weighing,  it  was 
supposed,  300  pounds. l 

1  Haley,  "Cruise  of  the  Corwin,"  Washington,  1885,  p.  49. 


Fig.  129. 

NORTHERN  JAPANESE  CARRYING-FRAME,    WITH 
SHOULDER-BANDS. 

Illustration  of  plaited  work. 

Cat.  No.  /3093,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  P.  L.  Jouy. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION 


443 


Turner  says  that  he  has  seen  the  TTugava  Eskimo  place  ;i  barrel  of 
Hour  on  their  shoulders  and  carry  it  up  a  hillside  so  steep  as  to  require 
one  not  burdened  to  pick  his  steps  with  care. ' 

Grant/  says  that  the  women  of  Greenland  are  the  butchers  and  cooks, 
and  also  the  curriers  to  dress  the  pelts  and  make  clothes,  boots,  and 
shoes  out  of  them,  and  for  all  this  business  they  use  nothing  but  a  knife 
in  form  of  a  half-moon,  such  as  cooks  mince  meat  with,  which  they  use 
also  at  the  table,  and  have  neither  shears  nor  knife  besides;  a  bone  or 
ivory  slice,  a  thimble,  a  couple  of  coarse  and  line  needles,  and  their  own 
teeth,  with  which  they  pull  the 
skins  and  supple  them  both  at 
dressing  and  sewing.  They 
build  and  repair  the  houses  and 
tents  quite  alone,  as  far  ;is  re- 
lates to  the  masonry.  The  men 
very  coolly  look  on  while  the 
women  bring  heavy  stones  that 
are  ready  to  break  their  backs.- 

The  enormous  amount  of  en 
ergy  and  endurance  in  the  Es- 
kimo arrested  the  attention  of 
Nan  sen.  He  has  collected  in 
his  second  volume  a  number  of 
narratives  in  which  are  de- 
scribed West  Greenlanders  who 
have  gotten  into  straits  and 
who  have  performed  prodigies 
of  energy.3 

The  Babiues,  a  subtribe  of 
carriers  in  British  Columbia, 
have  a  frame  for  the  back  called 
tchen-est'lu  (sticks  interwoven). 
It  is  like  a  rough  arm  chair 
without  legs,  made  of  stout 
split  sticks  of  willow  ( *SVi //'./• 
lomji folia]  joined  by  thongs. 
The  Dene  women  pack  this 
frame  from  the  forehead  with 

a  skin  line  broadening  in  the  middle,  and  if  the  load  is  heavy  the 
ends  of  the  line  are  passed  a  (TOSS  the  chest.  Father  Morice  has  seen 
among  the  Hwotsu'  tinne,  a  fraction  of  the  P»abines.  a  woman  thus 
parking  her  invalid  husband,  a  man  of  more  than  average  size  and 
weight.1 


Fin. 


KOKEAN    KKrsllWCM.I)  Cl    ITK.K    rsIXH    HISINU-FKAMK 

WITH   SHOUUIKH  STRAPS. 
(•'nun  M  limit-.-  in  r.-irl.-'  "  I.il.-  in  Ki.rrn." 


1  Tamer,  "Indiana  and  Eskimo  of  Ungava,"  p.  104. 
-Grant/.,  "History  of  Greenland,"  London,  1767,  p.  164. 
^Nansen.  "First  Crossing  of  Greenland,"  London,  1890,  n,  j 
4  Trans.  Canadian  lust.,  1894,  vu,  p.  118. 


444 


REPORT    OP    NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 


Example  No.  150406  is  the  model  of  a  similar  packing  frame  (ka-ni 
kon-hua)  from  the  Ouondaga  Iroquois,  procured  by  Mr.  Hewitt.  It  is 
made  of  hickory  rods  bent  like  a  wooden  flail,  and  resembles  two  backs 
of  bent- wood  chairs,  one  vertical,  the  other  horizontal,  the  parts  united 
by  means  of  tough  hickory  bark.  The  rack  for  trunks  on  the  back  of 
a  country  stage  coach  seems  to  be  a  survival  of  this  angular,  .packing 
frame.  Father  Morice  points  out  its  occurrence  in  the  ancient  Mexican 
codices.  It  may  be  seen  on  the  backs  of  porters  at  Panama  and  in 
Peru.  The  Patagonian  mother  has  a  similar  device  for  her  baby,  and 


Fig.  131. 

KOREAN  MAN  CARRYING  WATER  BY  MEANS  OF  A  POLE  RESTING  ON  THE  LUMBAR  REGION  AND  SUPPORTED 

BY  A  BAND  PASSING  OVER  THE  SHOULDER  AND  AROUND  THE  NECK. 

From  :i  sketch  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum. 

Hitchcock,  as  has  been  said,  photographed  the  type  on  the  backs  of  his 
Aino  carriers  for  the  U.  S.  National  Museum. 

Father  Morice  reports  that  the  carriers  of  Stuart  Lake  (Athapascans) 
are  inferior  workmen,  and  that  they  fabricate  carrying  pails  from  the 
bark  of  the  birch  (Betula  papyracea)  and  of  spruce  (Abies  nigra).  The 
method  of  construction  is  given,  with  working  patterns.1 

Among  the  carriers  the  wallet  or  packing  bag  of  the  men,  t'lul-en'- 
kez',  is  made  from  the  caribou  skin  cut  in  fine  strips  or  the  skin  of 
beavers  when  found  so  decomposed  that  the  fur  has  lost  its  value.2 

1  Trans.  Canadian  Inst.,  1894,  iv,  Chap.  vn.    The  whole  paper  can  not  be  too  highly 
commended. 

2  Ibid.,  1891,  iv,  p.  160. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND   TRANSPORTATION. 


445 


The  regular  packing  wallet  (lu'-kez)  of  the  carriers  is  made  of 
undressed  moose  hide  and  tanned  caribou  skin.  The  packing  band  is 
of  moose  skin,  broad  in  the  middle  for  the  forehead  and  quite  long. 
On  each  end  of  the  wallet  is  a  luj;  or  oar  of  tanned  hide  pierced  with 
two  holes.  The  ends  of  the  carrying  band  pass  through  the  upper 
holes  and  are  drawn  forward  and  tied  across  the  breast,  so  that  the 
position  of  the  burden  may  be  changed  at  will.1  Salmon  skin  often 
replaces  the  hide.  Women  are  the  principal  carriers. 

Of  the  Athapascan  woman  Father  Morice  says  that  her  capacity  for 


Fig.  1:52. 

KOKKAN    MKTIKMIS   »K   I'AUKVINIi. 
Krnin  »  figure  in  Curies*  "Life  in  Kiirra." 

carrying  heavy  burdens  lies  in  her  ability  to  preserve  an  accurate  bal- 
ancing of  the  load  rather  than  in  any  great  muscular  strength.  The 
pack  rests  on  the  back,  between  the  shoulders,  supported  by  a  leather 
line  which  passes  in  a  broad  band  across  the  forehead  and  is  secured 
by  the  ends  of  the  line  being  tied  across  the  chest.-' 

The  professional  carriers  about  Lake  Nipigon,  Canada,  are  described 
by  Ralph,  who  says  that  each  man  uses  a  tumpline,  or  long  stout  strap, 
which  he  tied  in  such  a  way  around  what  he  meant  to  carry,  that  a 
broad  part  of  the  strap  fitted  over  the  crown  of  his  head  (fig.  134). 


'TranH.  Canadian  hist.,  1SHI.  iv.  p.  117.  ti^-  1  •'!"'• 
•Proc.  Canailian  lust..  !**!».  XXV,  Nns.  ll'l  and  152. 


446 


REPORT    OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


Thus  they  "packed"  the  goods  over  the  portage,  their  heads  sustain- 
ing the  loads,  and  their  backs  merely  steadying  them.  When  one  had 
thrown  his  burden  into  place,  he  trotted  off  up  the  trail  with  spring- 
ing feet,  though  the  freight  was  packed  so  that  100  pounds  should  form 
a  load.  For  bravado  one  carried  200  pounds,  and  then  all  the  others 
tried  to  pack  as  much,  and  most  of  them  succeeded.  All  agreed  that 
one,  the  smallest  and  least  muscular-looking  one  among  them  could 
carry  400  pounds.1 


Fig.  133. 

AINO  HEAD-STRAP  AND  SEAT,  KROM  SHIKOTAN,  YKZO. 

From  a  figure  m  the  Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  (  U.  S.  Nationil  Museum),  1890. 
Cat.  No.  150768,  U.  S.  N.  M . 

Mackenzie  tells  of  men  who  carried  seven  packages  of  90  pounds  each 
across  a  portage  half  a  league  long  without  stopping.2 

The  Kutchin  woman  cuts  and  hauls  the  h'rewood  for  her  husband; 
she  hauls  his  lodge,  kettles,  and  property  when  the  camp  is  moved;  she 
hauls  the  meat  to  the  camp  in  winter  and  carries  it  in  summer.  During 
the  warm  weather  she  dries  the  meat,  carries  him  water,  makes  his 
clothes,  laces  his  snowshoes,  and  indeed  does  all  the  drudgery  of  the 
camps.  The  men  always  cook.  If  a  wife  will  not  obey  her  husband 

'Julian  Ralph,  "On  Canada's  Frontier,"  New  York,  1802,  p.  188. 

*  "  Voyages  trom  Montreal  through  the  Continent  of  North  America,"  u.  i.vm. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


447 


she  gets  a  good  beating.     Children  are  generally  well  treated  by  their 
parents.1 

The  watersheds  and  river  systems  of  Canada  and  tin-  northern  United 
States,  together  with  the  tact  that  nature  supplied  excellent  material 
for  very  light  and  capacious  water  craft,  rendered  this  whole  territory 
accessible  from  any  point  of  it  and  made  it  possible  for  single  stocks 
of  Indians  to  occupy  large  territory.  Portages  were  of  several  kinds: 

(1)  The  voyageurs  unloaded  their  canoes,  carried  t lie  goods  on  their 
backs  by  means  of  headbands  or  on  their  shoulders,  from  open  wat<«r  to 
open  water,  making  as  many  trips 
backward  and  forward  as  necessary. 
The  canoe  was  towed  up  and  past  the 
obstruct  ion  by  means  of  strong  lines. 

(!')  If  the  water  would  not  permit 
the  towing  of  the  boat,  it  had  to  be 
carried  around  the  obstruction,  a  dis 
tance  of  a  few  feet  or  of  miles.     In 
fact,  in  former  time  this  sort  of  carry 
ing  was  called  portage,  the  carrying 
of  goods  alone  was  called  decharge. 

(3)  In  descending,  the  boat  with  its 
cargo,  or  partly  lightened,  was  "shot" 
through  moderate  rapids  by  skillful 
steersmen,  or  letdown  by  means  of  lines 
and  guided  past  dangerous  points. 

Portages  varied  also  in  their  length, 
in  the  nature  of  the  surrounding  hills, 
in  the  depths' of  the  water  according 
to  season.  Mackenzie  speaks  of  port- 
age a  la  vase,  which  is  the  same  as  the 
English  mud  portage,  or  the  poling, 
dragging,  forcing  of  the  vessel  through 
mud  Hats.  Now  and  then  a  natural  canal  was  helpful,  and  then  for  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  or  more  the  navigation  was  a  comprehensive  example 
of  all  the  species  of  human  effort.2 

Of  his  carriers  Mackenzie  says  that  when  leaving  Montreal  they 
arrived  at  the  Grand  Portage,  which  is  9  miles  over;  each  of  them  had 
to  carry  8  packages  ((.M)  pounds).  "So  inured  are  they  to  this  kind 
of  labor,  that  1  have  known  them  to  set  off  with  two  packages  and 
return  witli  two  others  of  the  same  weight  in  six  hours,  a  distance  of  18 
miles  over  hills  and  mountains." 

The  canoes  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  were  navigated  by  four  to 
six  men.  and  carried  on  an  average  3,">00  pounds.  Kadi  had  a  foreman 


Fig.  134. 

CANADIAN  1'ACKKR  WITH  TUMPUXK. 

i  :i  fi«iirH  iii  "  Canada'*  Frontier,"  by  Julian  Kalph. 


1  Jones,  Rep.  Smithsonian  hist.,  ISM.  p.  :'.•_'(;. 

M:ii-krn/ic,  "  YoMiircs  from  Montreal   through  th< 
Philadelphia  1HOJ,  p.  xxxiii. 


(  uiii  incut  n|'  N^rth    \iin-rir.-i,' 


448 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


awl  a  steersman,  and  enough  additional  men  to  form  a  crew  capable  of 
carrying  the  boat. 

The  justification  among  the  Chippewas  for  loading  the  backs  of  their 
women  with  grievous  burdens  is  found  in  their  mythology.  They  derive 
their  origin  from  dogs.  At  one  time,  as  the  story  goes,  they  were  seized 
with  such  reverence  for  their  canine  ancestors  that  they  entirely  ceased 

to  employ  dogs  in  drawing  their 
sledges,  greatly  to  the  hardship  of 
their  women,  to  whom  the  task  fell.1 
Maximilian  saw  Cree  Indian 
women  returning  in  all  directions 
from  the  forests,  panting  under 
the  weight  of  large  bundles  of 
wood,  which  were  fastened  on 
their  backs.3 

Example  No.  165918  in  the  U.  S. 
National  Museum  is  the  universal 
packing  or  parfleche  case  of  the 
Cheyenne  Indians  of  the  Algon- 
quian  stock.  It  is  made  from  a 
single  piece  of  buifalo  hide,  cured 
as  rawhide  and  not  tawed.  A  hide 
was  first  sweated  so  that  the  hair 
would  come  out  and  then  cleaned 
and  stretched  until  nearly  dry.  It 
was  then  cut  into  shape,  doubled 
up  into  wallet  form,  useless  folds 
were  cut  away,  and  was  then  fitted 
with  strings  and  painted  in  green, 
black,  yellow,  and  blue  to  the  gen- 
tile pattern.  The  U.  S.  National 
Museum  possesses  a  large  variety  of  these  packing  cases  from  every 
one  of  the  stocks  on  the  plains — Siouan,  Algonquian,  Oaddoau,  Kiowan, 
and  Shoshoneau. 

The  function  of  the  parfleche  was  to  preserve  articles  and  food  in  the 
tent  and  to  become  a  packing  case  for  man,  for  dog's  back,  dog  travois, 
horse  travois,  and  horse's  back  in  the  daily  or  the  annual  move  (figs. 
135  and  136). 

"In  winter  time,"  says  Wood,  "the  New  England  Indian  women  were 

their  husbands'  caterers,  trudging  to  the  clam  banks  for  their  timber, 

and  their  porters  to  lug  home  their  venison  which  their  laziness  exposes 

to  the  wolves  till  they  impose  it  upon  their  wives'  shoulders."3 

Loskiel  says  that  the  Delaware  women  carried  everything  on  their 


Fig.  135. 

RAWHIDE  PACKING   OK  PARFLECHK   CASE. 
Tat.  No.  165918,  L:.  S.  N.  M.     Collect  eel  by  H.  11.  Voth. 


1  Bancroft,  "Native  Races  <>!'  the  Pacific  States,"  New  York,  1874-1876,  I,  p.  118. 
-Maximilian,  "Travels  in  the  Interior  of  North  America,"  London,  1843,  p.  203. 
n  Wood,  "New  England's  Prospect,''  1'rmce  Soc.  Publications,  Boston,  I,  p.  108. 


PRIMITIVE   TRAVEL    AND   TRANSPORTATION. 


449 


heads,  fastened  by  a  thong  round  their  foreheads.  By  meaus  of  this 
they  frequently  supported  above  a  hundredweight,  the  load  being  placed 
so  as  to  rest  also  upon  their  backs.1 


Fig.  136. 

RAWHIDE  PACKING  OR  PARFLECHE  CASES 
Cil  No.  I8&IM,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  hy  Junta  Mooney. 


The  I'.  S.  National  Museum  possesses  an  old  carrying  basket,  example 


.  '•  History  of  the  Mission  of  the  United  Brethren/'  1794.  pp.  107-108. 
H.  Mis.  90,  pt  2 29 


450 


REPORT   OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


No.  8430  (tig.  137),  from  the  Arikaree  Indians,  of  Dakota,  who  are  of  the 
Panian  or  Caddoau  stock.  The  basket  is  quadrilateral,  widest  at  the 
top  and  longer  than  wide.  Four  bent  poles  constitute  the  frame,  each 
one  forming  the  basis  of  a  side  or  end.  The  end  ones,  much  like  ox-yoke 
bows,  project  below  the  others  to  form  a  rest  for  the  basket.  At  the  top 
the  ends  of  the  poles  are  held  in  place  by  means  of  a  hoop.  In  a  former 
paper  the  weaving  was  said  to  resemble  that  of  the  British  Columbia 
tribes  in  cedar  bark  and  other  flat  material,  and  so  it  does.  But  it  is 

more  significant  here  that  it 
also  resembles  that  of  the 
Muskhogean  and  other  south- 
ern stocks  of  the  United  States. 
It  is  diagonal  weaving  in  nar- 
row strips  of  birch  and  other 
tough  bark,  varying  in  color. 
The  distribution  of  this  type  of 
weaving  belongs  to  the  study 
of  the  industries  of  the  Ameri- 
can aborigines. 

The  cacique  of  Patofa  gave 
to  Soto  guides,  700  Indians  to 
bear  burdens,  and  maize  for 
four  days'  journey.  Soto  trav- 
eled six  days  by  a  path,  which 
narrowed  more  and  more  until 
it  was  lost  altogether.  All 
through  Georgia  the  Indians 
obeyed  their  ladie  to  furnish 
bearers.  From  that  it  is  in- 
ferred that  the  professional 
carrier  had  been  developed.1 

Example  No.  91508  (fig.  138) 
is  a  form  of  carrying  basket 
quite  common  among  the  Choc- 
taw  Indians  of  Louisiana.  It  is  a  hamper  holding  a  bushel  or  more, 
wider  at  top  than  at  bottom.  It  is  made  of  the  common  cane,  split  and 
woven  by  diagonal  weaving,  the  universal  method  among  the  southern 
tribes  of  the  United  States  upon  all  baskets  whatever.  The  headband 
of  leather  is  attached  to  the  sides  of  the  basket. 

On  the  west  coast  of  America,  south  of  the  peninsula  of  Alaska,  the 
sled,  the  kayak,  and  the  portable  canoe  disappear,  and  the  porter  at 
once  assumes  his  carrying  devices,  and  does  not  lay  them  aside  again 
until  the  Straits  of  Magellan  are  reached.  Both  head  and  breast  band 
are  brought  into  play.  With  the  former  the  reader  is  familiar. 
The  breastband  is  a  flat  piece  of  textile  or  hide  extending  from  a 


Fig.  137. 

CARRYING-BASKET  OF  AKIKAREE  (CADDOAN)  INDIANS. 
C«t.  Nn.8130,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Dr.  Washington  Matthews.  II. .«. 


1 "  Discovery  and  Conquest  of  Terra  Florida,"  Publica  tions  of  the  Hakluyt  Society 
1851,  p.  52. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


451 


load  on  a  man's  back  across  his  arms  and  breast.  Sometimes  it  is  seen 
quite  up  to  the  collar  bone,  again  it  crosses  almost  down  to  the  elbows. 
A  good  picture  of  this  device  is  given  by  Krause.  He  figures  a  Chilkat 
man,  barefoot,  weaving  trousers  and  blouse,  and  carrying  a  pack  sup- 
ported by  a  headband  and  breastband.  Between  the  former  and  the 
forehead  lies  a  soft  pad.1  (Fig.  139.) 

Schwatka  was  astonished  at  the  endurance,  of  the  Alaskan  carriers. 
and  says  that  the  Indian  packers  over  these  mountain  passes  usually 
carry  IOC)  pounds,  although  one 
lie  had  witnessed  walked  along 
readily  with  IL'7.  and  a  miner 
informed  him  that  his  party 
employed  one  that  carried  1  »'»<». 
The  cost  of  carriage  of  a  pack 
(KM)  pounds)  over  the  Chilkoot 
trail  for  miners  has  been  from 
•-".I  loslL'.  ;md  the  lndi;iii>  \\ere 
not  inclined  to  see  him  over  at 
any  reduced  rates,  despite  the 
la  rue  amount  of  material  re 
quired  to  be  transported,  some 
2  tons.  By  giving  them  two 
load  s,oi  do  n  blmg  the  time  over 
the  portage,  a  slight  reduction 
could  be  had,  not  worth  the 
time  lost  in  such  an  arrange- 
ment, and  he  made  contracts 
with  enough  of  them  to  carry 
his  effects  over  at  once.  "Mr. 
Spuhn  was  also  very  energetic 
in  his  efforts  to  secure  for 
me  better  terms,  but  without 
avail,  and  after  I  crossed  the 
trail  1  in  no  way  blamed  the  Indians  for  their  stubbornness  in 
maintaining  what  seemed  at  first  sight  to  be  exorbitant,  and  only 
wondered  that  they  would  do  this  extremely  fatiguing  labor  so  reason- 
ably." 

Schwatka  gives  a  view  on  Payer  portage,  representing  a  Chilkat 
Indian  with  two  ammunition  boxes  going  over  the  pass.  The  amount 
some  of  these  packers  will  carry  seems  marvel  ms,  and  makes  esti- 
mates for  pack  mules  or  trails  therefor  seem  suj  erfluous.  Their  only 
packing  gear  is  a  couple  of  bands,  one  passing  over  the  forehead  where 
it  is  flattened  out  into  a  broad  strip,  and  the  other  over  the  arms 
and  across  the  breast.  The  two  meet  behind  on  a  level  with  the 
shoulder,  and  are  there  attached  to  lashings  more  or  less  intricate, 


Kig.  138. 
CHOCTAW     CAKKYINii-HASKKT,    TOMMON  AMONO    MU8KHO- 

liKAX  TRIBKS. 
9ISUH.  1'.  S.  X.  M.      r.illert.'.l  l>y  Kclwurd  I'.Hi.-r. 


Aurel  Krause,  "Die  Tlinket-Indianer,"  Jeua,  1885,  p.  101. 


452 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


according  to  the  nature  of  the  material  to  be  transported.  If  a  box  or 
stiff  bag,  the  breast  band  is  so  arranged  in  regard  to  length  that  when 
the  elbow  is  placed  against  it  (the  box),  the  strip 
tits  tightly  over  the  extended  forearm  across  the 
palm  of  the  hand  bent  backward.  The  head- 
band is  then  the  width  of  the  hand  beyond  this. 
Schwatka  saw  a  few  Indians  arranging  their 
packs  and  their  harness  according  to  this  mode. 
The  harness  proper  will  not  weigh  over  a  pound, 
and  the  lashing  according  to  its  length.  The 
strip  across  the  head  and  breast  is  of  untanned 
deerskin,  about  2  inches  wide,  with  holes  or  slits 
in  the  ends  protected  from  tearing  out  by  spindles 
of  bone  or  ivory.1 

"It  seemed  marvelous  beyond  measure  IIOAV 
these  small  Indians, not  averaging,  I  believe, over 
140  pounds  each,  could  carry  100  pounds  up  such 
a  precipitous  mountain,  alternately  on  steeply 
inclined  glacial  snow  and  treacherous  rounded 
bowlders  where  a  misstep  in  many  places  could 
have  hurled  them  hundreds  of  feet  down  the 
slope  or  precipices. 

"The  Indian  would  chase  a  goat,  almost  keep- 
ing up  with  him,  down  into  thje  valley  where 
we  camped,  and  up  the  steep  mountain  slopes 
of  the  eastern  side  equally  as  high  as  those  men- 
tioned, and  all  this  immediately  after  he  had  carried  over  100  pounds 
across  the  trail."2 


Fig.  139. 

CHILKAT  (KOLUSCHAN)  PACKER 
WITH  LOAD. 

From  a    figure    in   "Die   Tlinket    In- 
dianer,"  by  Krause. 


Fig.  140. 

CARBYINO-WALLET  OF  SPRUCE  BOOT,  MIXED  PLAIN  AND  TWINKD  WEAVING . 

Southeastern  Alaska. 

Cat.  No.  168163,  U.  S.  N    M.     Collected  by  Herbert  Ogden. 

Example  No.  168163  (fig.  140)  is  a  wallet  of  spruce  root  from  south- 
eastern Alaska,  near  Fort  W  ran  gel  1.    It  is  a  shallow  bowl  or  tray, 


1  Schwatka,  "Military  Reconnoissance  in  Alaska,"  1883,  p.  23,  fig.  8. 
zlbid.,  pp.  17-18. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


453 


circular  in  outline,  and  flexible.     The  noteworthy  characteristic  is  the 

mixture  of  art  in  its  production.     In  the  weft  every  alternate  row  is 

twined  and  the   next  plainly  woven.     Now  Dixons   Entrance  is  the 

point  of  contact  of  the  Koluschan  or  Tlingit,  the  Skittagetan  or  Haida. 

the  Chimmesyan  and  the  Wakashan  or  H;iclt/.uk;tn  families,  and  Sal- 

ishan  tribes  are   not  far  distant.      On   the  north  of  Dixons   Kntrancc 

twined  weaving  in  split  spruce  root  attains   its   perfection.     On   the 

south  of  it,  in   the  cedar-hark  country,  plain    weaving  and  diagonal 

or  diaper   weaving 

have  their  develop- 

ment.   Inthisspec- 

i  in  {'ii   a   Tl  i  n  gi  t 

woman  might  have 

woven  one  row  and 

aWakashan  woman 

the   alternate    row. 

On    a    great    many 

trade    baskets   and 

fanciful  articles,  such  as  covered  bottles,  this  alternation  reappears. 

The  handle  is  a  loop  of  spruce-root  rope  on  one  margin  and  a  loose  end 

on  the  other  margin  to  tit  therein. 

Speaking  of  the  necessity  of  carriers  from  the  coast,  Setou-Karr 

says  that  when  the  (Jhilkats  are  all  gone,  those  interior  regions  which 

are  only  attainable  on  foot  with  pack-carriers  or  packers  will  become 

more  difficult  of  ac- 

',';;,;      •>    .'   •    '.:'::    i  j^  ;;;.!'  /•.  .-.:  'r-  •»    .....  cess,  because  now 

these  Indians,  bro- 
ken as  they  are  by 
disease,  can  yet 
carry  heavier  packs 
than  a  white  man. 
Fig.  142.  They  can  travel  far- 


. 141 . 

I'l.AllMi     i  AKlnlMMiAND    AND    LINE,  VBKl>    BY   TIIK  MAKAII     (WAKA-.IIAM 
INDIANS,  NEAH  HAY,  WASHINGTON. 

fat.  NIL  lf.n.  T.  S.  N.  M.      CII||.TI«|  l.y  JaniM  <i.  Sw»n. 


PI.AITKII    AND    WOVKN     IIKAD-I!  AND.     USE1>    BY    THK    CI.ALLAM     (SAUSHAN)         tllCr  Oil  foot  and  CD  - 

IN"IAN8'  dure.  greater  hard- 

cat.  No.  X3472,  U.  .S.  N.  M.     follertr.t  bjjamr*  (i.  Swan. 

ships.     1  hey  do  not 

require  so  much  in  the  shape  of  clothes  and  bedding.    Their  dried 
salmon,  which  they  carry  as  food,  weighs  little,  and  they  are  satisfied 
with  that.     They  are  able,  moreover,  to  supplement  this  with  many 
kinds  of  roots,  herbs,  and  fruits  which  are  eatable.1 
Mrs.  Allison  says  of  the  Similkameen  : 

Before  there  was  any  regular  means  of  transport  over  the  mountains  lying  between 
Hope,  on  the  Fra/er,  and  the  Similkameen,  the  Indians  used  to  be  employed  to  pack 
provisions  over  on  their  backs.  Their  packs  were  suspended  by  means  of  a  baud  or 
str;i]>  passed  over  their  foreheads  [see  figs.  141  and  142],  and  I  have  known  some  of 
them  to  pack  three  sacks  of  Hour  (150  pounds)  on  their  back  while  traveling  on  snow- 
shoes  for  a  distance  of  65  miles  over  a  rough,  mountainous  road,  with  a  depth  of  25 
feet  of  snow  on  the  summit  of  the  Hope  Mountain,  over  which  the  trail  ran.  Some- 

1  Seton-Karr,  Proc.  Roy.  Geog.  Soc.,  London,  1891,  xm,  p.  73. 


454 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


times  a  whole  family  would  start  out  on  one  of  these  packing  expeditions,  the  children 
as  well  as  their  parents,  each  taking  a  load  and  accomplishing  the  journey  in  six  or 
eight  days,  according  to  the  state  of  the  road.  If  an  unusually  violent  snowstorm 
overtook  an  Indian  while  traveling  in  the  mountains  he  would  dig  a  hole  in  the  snow, 
cover  himself  with  his  hlanket,  and  allow  himself  to  be  snowed  up ;  here  he  would 
calmly  sleep  until  the  snow  had  passed,  then  he  would  proceed  on  his  journey.1 

Mayne's  testimony  is  to  the  same  effect : 

The  things  were  then  divided  into  bundles  or  packs,  of  as  even  weight  as  possible, 
giving  some  50  or  60  pounds  to  each  man.  Arranging  these  packs  is  a  matter  of  no 
little  difficulty,  for  the  Indian  has  a  great  objection  to  altering  his  load  after  he  has 
started,  so  that  you  have  to  give  the  men  carrying  the  provisions,  which  grow 

lighter  daily,  a  heavier  load  at  starting  than 
those  who  have  the  canteen  or  the  tent  to 
carry. 

They  generally  stop  for  some  live  minutes' 
rest  every  half  hour.  This  they  do  with  sur- 
prising regularity.  They  generally  squat 
near  a  ledge  of  rock  on  which  they  can  rest 
their  burden  without  removing  it.  They 
carry  everything  the  same  way,  viz,  with  a 
band  over  the  forehead,  the  pack  resting  on 
their  shoulder  blades  or  a  little  below. - 

Of  the  Columbia  Indians  Lewis  and 
Clark  speak: 

The  morning  was  cool;  the  wind  high, 
from  the  northeast.  The  Indians  who  ar- 
rived last  night  took  their  empty  canoes  on 
their  shoulders  and  carried  them  below  the 
great  shoot,  where  they  put  them  in  the 
water  and  brought  them  down  the  rapid, 
till  at  the  distance  of  3-J-  miles  they  stopped 
to  take  in  their  loading,  which  they  had 
been  afraid  to  trust  in  the  last  rapid,  and 
had  therefore  carried  by  land  from  the  head 
of  the  shoot.3 


Fig.  143. 

INDIAN  WOMAN  CARRYING  WOOD  WITH  BREAST- 
BAND  AND  PARBUCKLE. 

Montana. 

From  a  photograph  in  D.  S.  National  Mnsenm. 


The  men  and  women  about  Still- 
water,  Mont.,  carry  loads  in  a  similar 
way.  (Fig.  143.)  The  packer  takes  a  reata  or  rope  about  the  size  of  one's 
finger,  made  out  of  Buffalo  skin  or  braided  elk  skin  (three  plait),  lays  it 
on  the  ground  in  shape  of  a  loop,  and  places  the  load  across  it.  They 
generally  get  a  little  rise  in  the  ground  or  a  cut  bank ;  but  if  on  the  level 
of  a  prairie  they  are  helped  by  one  of  their  number  to  raise  it  or  else 
work  over  on  their  side  until  they  can  get  upon  their  knees,  when  they 
are  all  right.  After  placing  their  load  of  100  pounds  each  of  flour  or 
a  quarter  of  a  buffalo  or  steer  or  a  bundle  of  dry  wood  they,  with  their 
back  against  it,  take  the  curve  or  bend  of  the  rope  over  their  head, 


'Allison,  Journ.  Anthrop.  Inst.,  London.,  1892,  xxi,  pp.  305-306. 
2Mayiie,  "  British  Columbia  and  Vancouver  Island,"  pp.  100-101. 
3"  History  of  the  Expedition  under  the  command  of  Lewis  and  Clark,"  New  York, 
1893,  n,  p.  684. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


455 


down  across  the  breast  and  across  the  shoulders,  and  then,  taking  one  of 
the  ends  in  each  hand,  bring  them  up  behind  their  back,  catch  the  rope 
on  top  of  the  load  by  running  each  end  under;  then,  pulling  the  ends 
over  each  shoulder,  tighten  the  loud,  if  loose,  and  then  raise  on  one 
side,  then  the  other,  to  make  it  more  secure,  and  with  a  heave  forward 
the  carrier  comes  to  the  knees  before  getting  on  the  feet.  The  load  or 
burden  rests  on  the  back  and  shoulders.  When  moving,  the  body  is 
bent  forward,  and  the  heavier  the  load  the  more  the  body  is  inclined. 
I  have  seen  them  carry  wood  over  4  miles  in  this  way,  resting  whenever 
they  find  a  suitable  place,  like 
a  cut  bank  or  washed  gully,  so 
the  load  will  be  even  with  the 
place  and  can  be  taken  again 
in  a  minute  or  so. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the 
regulation  carrying  strap  is 
for  the  professional  packer. 
When  good  textiles  abound 
along  the  shores  and  inland, 
from  Sitka  south  ward,  the  car- 
rying wallet  arid  conical  bas- 
ket come  into  vogue.  In  the 
land  of  the  giant  cedar  and  of 
the  soft  grasses  the  former  pre- 
vails. Under  the  domination 
of  more  rigid  material  the  cone 
comes  into  play.  The  freight 
also  is  different.  Most  of  the 
dwellings  of  the  fishing  peo- 
ple are  by  the  water  side,  the 
freight  can  not  be  packed  and 
the  haul  is  short. 

ExainpleNo.  127843  (fig.  144) 
is  a  carrying  wallet  from  the 
Quiuaielt  Indians,  a  Salishan 
tribe  in  Chehalis  County, 
Wash.,  collected  by  Charles  Willoughby.  By  reference  to  the  illustra- 
tion it  will  be  seen  that  the  apparatus  is  a  combination  of  the  head 
band  and  line,  a  kind  of  inverted  sling,  with  a  bag.  The  band  is  braided 
in  the  same  manner  as  in  the  foregoing  figure. 

The  construction  of  the  wallet  is  of  interest.  The  general  texture 
is  precisely  that  of  the  typical  Chilkat  blanket  and  the  Sitka  wal- 
lets, only  the  material  is  twine,  the  weaving  is  loose  and  flexible,  and 
the  warp  is  horizontal.  At  the  top  are  one  or  two  interesting  features 
introduced  to  strengthen  the  border.  Two  rows  of  close  twined  weav- 
ing an1  laid  on  outside  as  in  the  style  called  "bird-cage"  stitch.  The 


Fig. 144. 

CARBYINQ-WALLBT  AND  HEAD-BAND. 

An  example  of  twined  weaving,  with  horizontal  warp. 

'nl.   No.  127843,    I'.  S.  N.  M.   Quinaiult  (Salishan)  Indian*.  Washington. 
Collected  by  Charles  Wil'.ouihby. 


456 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


ends  of  the  weft  are  braided  down  into  one  another,  drawn  tight  and 
cut  off. 

Example  No.  .19026  (fig.  145)  is  a  conical  carrying  basket  used  by  the 
Clallam  Indians.  It  was  collected  by  James  G.  Swan.  It  is  introduced 
to  show  how  the  savage  inventor  would  convert  a  soft  wallet-  of  the 
north  into  a  hard  cone  of  the  south.  The  web  of  the  basket  is  from 
rushes  united  by  twine  weaving,  by  braiding,  and  by  the  plaiting  of 
a  single  filament.  This  soft,  open  network  is  converted  into  a  light  but 
strong  cone  by  the  insertion  of  a  hoop  into  the  top  and  the  fixing  of 

six  vertical  rods  to  the  hoop  at 
equal  distances,  uniting  their 
ends  at  the  bottom  of  the  cone, 
and  sewing  them  to  the  texture 
of  the  wallet  inside. 

Example  No.  19289  (fig.  146)  is 
a  burden  basket  used  by  McCloud 
River  Indians,  California,  col- 
lected by  Livingstone  Stone.  In 
the  Clallam  basket  just  noted, 
the  headband  encircles  the  cone 
about  the  middle,  raising  the  load 
high  on  the  back,  after  the  man- 
ner of  the  Oriental  water  car 
riers.  Indeed,  the  conical  bask  et 
and  the  conical  jar  should  be 
studied  together  as  for  the  back 
instead  of  the  head.  Farther 
south  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
Pueblo  women  make  their  jars 
for  the  head,  while  the  Papago 
make  theirs  for  the  back,  hence 
the  variety  in  form.  (Fig.  146.) 

The  California  woman  has 
abundance  of  rhus,  hazel,  wil- 
low, pine  root,  and  other  rigid 
material  and  may  decorate  the  surface  with  different  fern  stems, 
straw,  and  dyed  splint.  So  she  makes  her  baskets  in  twined  weav- 
ing, having  rigid  switches  or  small  stems  for  her  warp.  But  in 
this  central  California  region  there  is  a  device  of  strengthening 
the  texture  not  sufficiently  explained  in  the  drawing.  It  is,  in  fact, 
the  union  of  what  has  been  called  the  twined  stitch  with  the  bird-cage 
stitch. 

There  are  three  elements :  (1)  The  fundamental  or  vertical  warp  of 
twigs;  (2)  across  this  at  right  angles  a  horizontal  subsidiary  warp 
of  twig  carried  around  in  the  process  of  weaving,  and  (3)  a  web  or  weft 
of  twined  weaving  uniting  the  two.  Dr.  Hudson,  of  Yokaia,  Cal.,  the 


Fig.  145. 

CONICAL  CARBYING-BABKET  WITH  RODS  AND  PLAITED 

HEAD-BAND  FROM  PYRAMID  LAKE,  NEVADA. 
Cat.  No.  19026,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Stephen  Power*. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND   TRANSPORTATION. 


457 


best  authority  on  such  matters,  draws  attention  to  the  fact  that  all 
the  northern  stitches  culminate  in  the  Sacramento  Valley  and  mirts 
adjacent,  and  that  the  Yo- 
kaiau  stock  are  very  adept  at 
this  composite  style  of  tex- 
ture. The  top  of  this  basket 
is  strengthened  by  a  hoop,  to 
which  the  carrying  band  is 
attached.  The  bottom  is 
strengthened  by  close  weav- 
ing. 

The  Porno  Indians  use  a 
conical  basket  for  carrying, 
held  on  the  back  in  a  sling, 
the  headband  of  which  passes 
over  the  carrier's  brow.  Dr. 
Hudson  once  saw  an  old  wo- 
man carry  3  bushels  of  pota- 
toes in  this  manner  through 
mud  and  rain  to  her  home  '2 
miles  distant.  Greater  loads 
are  not  unusual  to  the  men, 
and  as  a  consequent  result  of 
such  customary  labor  the  Dig 
ger  Indian  is  abnormally  de- 
veloped in  the  dorsal  and 
the  anterior  cervical  muscles, 
besides  having  a  chest  magnificent  in  proportions.1 

Example  No.  1126U07  (fig.  147)  is  an  elaborately  constructed  headband 

worn  by  the  Natano  band  of  Hupa 
Indians,  Athapascan  stock,  living  on 
the  reservation  of  the  same  name  in 
northern  California.  It  consists  of  a 
loosely  woven,  visor-like  pad  to  fit  on 
the  forehead,  and  is  held  in  place  by  a 
rope  made  of  the  warp  of  the  pad, 
served  with  twine  made  from  the 
native  hemp.  This  apparatus  is  first 
placed  on  the  head,  and  then  the 
headband  of  the  load  or  of  the 
tracking  line  is  worn  over  it.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  the  Hupa 
are  the  kinfolks  of  the  Carrier 
Indians  of  Canada  and  Alaska.  Collected  by  Capt.  P.  H.  Ray,  U.  S.  A. 
Farther  southward  and  in  the  mountains  north  of  San  Francisco  Bay 


Fig.  146. 

CONICAL  BURDEN-BASKET  USED  BY  THE   MCCLOUD    RTVER 
INDIANS  OF  SHASTA  COUNTY,  CALIFORNIA. 

«':it.  No.  19899,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Colln-li-il  hy  Livingston  SI., Mr. 


Pig.  147. 

FOREHEAD  PAD  WORN  BY  THE   HUPA  (ATHAPAS- 
CAN) INDIANS  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

Cut.  N.I.  126907,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  dipt.  P.  H.  R«y, 
V.  S.  A. 


1 J.  W.  Hudson,  Overland  Monthly,  1893,  xxi,  p.  573. 


4H8 


REPORT    OP    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


dwell  the  most  exquisite  of  American  basket  makers.  They  use  the 
conical  carrying  basket,  and  from  each  of  the  stocks  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum  has  a  large  collection.  They  also  make  globular  baskets  in 
large  quantity  and  of  many  sizes,  but  these  are  quiet  holders  of  things, 
not  carriers.  If  they  were  they  would  sit  on  the  head  after  the  manner 
of  a  Zuni  vase. 

In  the  companion  pictures  here  given  (figs.  148  and  149)  the  two 
styles  of  weaving  are  shown,  the  open  and  the  close,  though  both  have 


Fig.  148. 

POMO  WOMAN  CABRYINO  CONICAL  BASKET. 

California. 

ii  a  photograph  in    the    r.    S.   National   Museum   by  H.  W. 
Henshaw. 


Fig.  149. 

YOKAIA   MAN  CARRYING   WOOD  IN  CONICAL  BASKET. 

California. 

From  a  photograph    m  the  U.   S.    National    Museum    by  H.   W. 


the  same  stitch.  In  the  administration  and  mingling  of  the  twine  and 
the  coil  the  natives  of  central  California  developed  as  many  as  seven 
distinct  varieties  of  weaving,  which  will  be  minutely  described  in  a 
paper  on  the  industrial  arts  of  the  aboriginal  Americans.  The  man 
is  a  Yokaia,  reduced  to  poverty  by  the  new  regime,  and  is  seen  carry- 
ing wood.  The  staff  is  of  great  help  to  the  bearer  with  the  headband. 
The  other  picture  represents  a  Porno  woman  bearing  a  lighter  load 
in  a  conical  basket.  The  headband  encircles  the  middle  of  the  utensil, 
and  passes  across  the  woman's  forehead  well  up.  The  basket  is  woven 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


4f)9 


by  the  twined   process,  and  ornamented  in   bands  and   triangles  with 
split  stems  of  maidenhair  fern. 

Example  No.  4l'l.V>  (tig.  150)  is  one  of  a  large  number  collected  among 
the  Utes  of  Utah  by  Maj.  J.  \V.  IN. well  The  I'tes  belong  to  the  Sho- 
shoncau  stock,  stretching  from  the  northern  border  of  Mexico  to  Costa 
Rica.  In  each  culture  area  they  will  be  found  adapting  themselves  to 
circumstances  and  yet  preserving  their  originality: 

(1)  In  the  north  they  carry  luggage  in  folders  or  cases  of  rawhide,  as 
do  the  Sioux  and  other  dependents  on  the  buffalo. 

(2)  In  the  Great  Interior  P.asin,  of  which  they  were  practically  the 
owners  in  aboriginal  days,  the 

Ute-Shoshoneans  were  glean 
ers  of  all  sorts  of  grass  seeds: 
the  women  went  out  with  coni- 
cal baskets,  stood  them  on  the 
point  behind  a  bunch  of  goose 
foot  or  other  plant,  with  a  fan 
knocked  the  seeds  into  the  cone 
until  it  was  full,  hung  the  load 
on  their  backs  by  means  of  the 
headband,  and  carried  it  home. 
The  contents  were  winnowed, 
ground,  and  cooked  by  the  sa  me 
industrious  women. 

(3)  In  the  pueblo  country  the 
Utes  are    represented   by  the 
mixed  Moki  pueblo,  where,  as 
will  be  seen,  four  or  five  quite 
distinct  types  of  carrying  bas 
kets  are  made. 

(4)  In  Mexico  and  southward 
the  Aztecan  becomes  the  great- 
est of  burden  bearers. 

The  cones  here  described  are  made  of  split  osiers,  rims  stems,  and 
the  scions  of  other  plants  not  identified,  worked  into  twined  weaving, 
leaving  a  very  rough  surface  on  account  of  the  harshness  of  the  material. 
Once  in  a  while  a  narro\\  band  of  black  varies  the  monotony.  But 
nothing  is  more  striking  in  the  immense  Powell  collection  of  Ute 
material  than  the  lack  of  variety  in  the  color  of  the  buckskin  clothing 
and  the  uniform  hue  and  texture  of  the  carrying  baskets  and  bottles. 

Examples  Nos.  131 13J)  and  1  SSI  1 7  (figs.  1/51  and  1/52)  are  carrying  nets 
from  the  Missions  in  California.  The  latter  is  marked  Temecula.who  are 
Shoshonean;  the  former  is  simply  accredited  to  the  Missions.  In  the 
Powell  collection  from  I'tah  is  another  carrying  net,  No.  11244.  Kach 
of  these  is  a  strip  of  open  netting  with  fixed  meshes,  gathered  up  at  the 


1TK  SEKD-UASKF.T  AND   OATHKK1NQ-KAN. 

I '.-it.  Si,.  4ZI.V..  I".  S.  N.   M.      r,.!l,.,.t,..|  l,y  Maj.  .1.  \V.  I'owt-ll. 


460 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


ends  into  an  eyelet  or  loop  like  a  hammock  and  provided  with  a  carrying 
rope  of  the  same  kind.  The  nets  are  of  bast  fiber,  probably  Apocynum. 
The  knots  of  two  of  them  are  the  standard-mesh  knot,  bowline  on  a 
bight,  in  nautical  phrase;  the  other  is  square.  The  geographic  distri- 
bution of  knots  will  be  considered  later,  but  the  reader  practically  bids 
adieu  to  the  rigid  mesh  knot  with  the  Pueblo  region  and  takes  up  the 
plain  coil,  half-hitch,  wrapped  filament  of  all  America  south.  This  is 
seen  in  carrying  nets  and  hammocks.1 

Before  leaving  the  Slioshonean  sphere  of  influence,  it  is  necessary  to 


Fig.ir.i. 

CABRYISO-NET  USED    BY   THE    MISSION    INDIANS    ( >F 

CALIFORNIA. 
Cat.  No.  131139,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  l;y  Stephen  JHIII.-.I. 


Fig.  152. 

CARRYING-NET  MADE  OF  AGAVE    FIBER,  USED  BY 
THE  TEMECULA  INDIANS  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

C;it.  No.  18897,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  l,y  Kdwnril   I'almer. 


mention  another  carrying  device  whose  texture  and  material  are  the 
same  as  that  of  the  Ute  conical  burden  basket.  Example  No.  42129  is 
one  of  a  large  number  of  tight  carrying  bottles  or  jars,  used  in  the 
transportation  of  water.  After  being  closely  woven  the  vessel  is  dipped 
in  hot  pitch,  and  this  closes  every  chink.  These  vessels  are  much 
stronger  than  pottery;  indeed,  it  seems  impossible  to  break  one  in  the 
ordinary  wear  and  tear.  In  the  course  of  the  weaving  lugs  or  loops 
are  left  on  the  side  for  the  carrying  band.  These  water  bottles  in  their 


Cf.  Rep.  Smithsonian  Inst.  (U.  S.Nat.Mus.),  1887,  p.  369,  fig.  75. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL   AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


461 


use  are  not  confined  to  the  Ute^,  being  seen  in  the  hands  of  Apaches 
and  Pueblo  peoples.  The  Apaches  are  Athapascans,  and  are  most 
expert  in  coiled  basket  bowl  weaving.  It  is  fair  to  infer  that  they 
possess  this  type  of  water  jar  by  trade  or  that  they  were  early  taught 
the  art  of  making  them  in  their  new  homes.1  (Fig.  153.) 

Davis  speaks  of  Indian  women  carrying  water  along  on  the  march  for 
the  Spaniards  to  drink.2 

Vaca  says  of  the  Arbadaos,  a  tribe  of  Indians  in  western  Texas,  that 
they  go  naked,  and  tear  their  flesh  in  passing  through  the  woods  and 


Fig.  153. 

APACHK  WOMAN  CARRYING  WATER  IN  BASKET  BOTTLK. 
Krorn  n  phutof  raph  in  the  II. .S.  National  Museum. 

bushes.     They  were  obliged  to  carry  heavy  loads  of  wood  upon  their 
backs,  and  the  cords  which  bound  it  on  cut  into  their  flesh.    This  refers 
to  Vaca's  party :|  in  this  instance,  but  shows  the  common  method  of 
carrying  in  this  region. 
V aca  also  speaks  of  a  separate  class  of  emasculated  men  among  some 


'Cf.  Rep.  Smithsonian  Inst.  (II.  S.  Nat.  Mug. ),  1887,  p.  268,  fig.  14.     Apache  woman 
c:irrying  water  bottle. 

'"Spanish  Conquest  of  New  Mexico,"  I>oylentown,  ixtJJt,  p.  89. 
"Ibid.,  p.  77. 


462 


I'EPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


Texaii  tribes  who,  among  other  functions,  carried  heavy  burdens.  They 
were  more  muscular  and  taller  than  other  men  and  bore  burdens  of 
great  weight.1 

The  Apaches  also  use  a  modified  conical  basket,  example  No.  21489 
(fig.154).  The  material  and  the  stitch  are  precisely  those  of  the  Utes,  but 
there  are  three  noticeable  features.  The  basket  is  oblong,  like  a  northern 
pack  ;  the  surface  is  decorated  by  plain  colored  and  checkered  bands,  and 
hanging  from  the  top  and  the  bottom  are  fringes  of  buckskin,  at  the 
ends  of  which  are  the  false  hoofs  of  deer  and  bits  of  tin  rolled  up. 
The  reader  is  now  in  the  midst  of  the  arid  region  including  the  cliff 

dwellings  and  the  pueblos.  Into 
it  have  come  tribes  from  the  four 
quarters  and  introduced  every 
form  of  carrying  apparatus  known 
thereabout.  They  also  preserve 
to  us  forms  obsolete  elsewhere. 
In  addition  to  this,  for  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years,  Spanish 
inrtueiice  has  been  at  work  pro- 
ducing modifications  and  making 
additions.  The  women  who  go  to 
the  mesa  for  clay  now  bring  it 
home  in  old  blankets  in  good 
European  style,  slung  over  one 
shoulder  like  a  peddler's  pack. 
Mr.  Cosmos  Mindeleff  calls  the 
attention  of  the  writer  to  a  curious 
shifting  of  the  industrial  center  in 
those  pueblos  where  the  men  col- 
lect wood  in  the  adjoining  plains, 
carry  it  by  toilsome  journeys  up 
the  mesas  just  to  burn  it  for  the 
ashes.  The  creating  of  fires  in 
the  plain  would  disturb  all  the 
social  economy  of  the  mixed  populations. 

The  Moki  or  Hopi  pueblos,  seven  in  number,  in  northeastern  Ari- 
zona, have  been  carefully  studied  by  many  ethnologists,  latterly  by 
the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  and  by  Dr.  J.  Walter  Fewkes.  These  tribes, 
*of  mixed  linguistic  affinity,  have  several  marked  varieties  of  basketry, 
especially  for  carrying:  (1)  wickerwork,  warp  rigid,  weft  flexed; 
(2)  diagonal  weaving,  of  split  yucca  leaf;  (3)  coiled  work,  in  meal 
plaques,  etc.;  (4)  twined  work,  in  water  jars. 

Example  No.  70937  (fig.  155)  is  one  of  a  large  number  of  carry- 
ing baskets  from  Moki  in  wickerwork,  the  same  manipulation  being 
practiced  on  pretty  plaques  and  flat,  quadrilateral  mats.  The  mate- 
rial is  the  unbarked  twigs  of  little  shrubs  yet  undetermined.  The 


Fig.  154. 

ORNAMENTED  CARRYING-BASKET  USED  BY  THE  APACHK 

INDIANS  OF  ARIZONA. 
Cat.  No.  21489,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  J.  B.  White. 


Davis,  "Spanish  Conquest  of  New  Mexico,"  Doylestown,  1869,  p.  83. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


463 


quadrilateral  form  and  framework  of  these  baskets  recall  the  Arikaree 

specimen  before  described.     The  headband  is  attached  to  the  ends  one- 
third  of  the  distance  from  the  top. 
Kxample  No.  lL'153  is  figured  by 

Stevenson,   in   connection  with    a 

plaque  having  woven  center  and 

wicker  border.1 

Example  No.  ti'l'.Mi  (tig.  l.~»i!)  is  a 

carrying  basket  of  split  yucca  liber 

leaf  in  diagonal  weaving,  collected 

by  James  Stevenson.     There  are  a 

great  many  specimens  of  this  ware 

in  the  I'.S.  National  Museum  vary. 

ing  in  form   from  a  flat  tray  to  a 

deep  fruit-picking  basket.     All  of 

them  are  coarse,  light,  strong,  and 

often  made  to  be  quite  ornamental 

by  the  variation  of  the  stitch  and 

alternating  of  the  two  sides  of  the 

leaf,   one    green    and    the    other 

whitish.  The  headband  is  attached 

to  the  rim.     The  various  styles  are 

figured  by  Colonel  Stevenson.2 
Example  Xo.  4l'12!)  (tig.  157)  is  a 

water-tight  jar  for  carrying  water, 

collected  at  Wolpi,  one  of  the  Moki 

pueblos  in  northeastern  Arizona, 

by  James  Stevenson.    It  is  of  split  osiers  made  in  coiled  work,  after 

the  fashion  of  the  Apache  trays,  and 
dipped  in  hot  pitch.  Lugs  of  horse- 
hair are  attached  to  the  sides  for 
the  headband.  This  should  be  com- 
pared with  Vte  and  Apache  speci- 
mens, the  more  especially  since 
the.-e  make  no  pottery,  while  the 
Moki  are  excellent  potters. 

The  basketry  of  the  '/Aim  In- 
dians, in  New  Mexico,  as  it  exists 
in  the  IT.  S.  National  Museum  is 
of  very  rude  and  ordinary  form, 

IIASKKl •K..K.;vill|.:iilN.i  VITCAI-KIT.,   M.-njl    I  I  <A  (1,>I  I  btleSS    O  WJ  Ilg    to     pOVCl'tV    of    IIKI 

VAN,  ARIZONA.  .     ,  ,  ., 

*ena'  an"  ln<)t|V<'  ro  '*s  <'onstrnc 
Kr ,ii.ur- i,,  th.  s.,,,,,,1  \,,,H,,I  Kn-.rt  .1  ii.- i:,r t     tfoii.     The  twined,  coiled  wicker, 


Fig.  155. 

FHUIT-I'ICKER'S  HASKET  FROM  TU8AYAN,  ARIZONA. 

i     t.  No.  rW"7.   I     >.  N.  M       r,,11,., •!(•,!  In-  .|:,IIM-  Stevenson. 


and  diagonal  or  plaited  styles  r\j>t. 
but  no  original  fashions  are  developed.    • 

Si-cinnl  Ann.  i«V|>.  limviiu  of  i  t liiiologv .  li^s.  .">:;!'.  .Md. 
'Ibid.,  tigs.  54:: 


464 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 


Example  No.  22971  (fig.  158),  collected  by  Jaines  Stevenson,  is  built 
up  on  corner  bows  and  warp  of  three  sticks  together;  the  filling  is  in 
wicker  and  the  ends  are  fastened  off  very  neatly  by  tucking  them  in.1 
Example  No.  40093  (fig.  159)  is  a  modern  specimen  of  Moki  pottery 
collected  by  James  Stevenson,  and  is  one  of  a  large  number  illustrating 
the  control  of  the  carrying  function  over  form.  It  may  be  called  an 
aboriginal  canteen  and  could  have  been  influenced  in  shape  by  those 
of  civilized  peoples.  At  any  rate,  the  mouth  has  relation  to  filling  and 
emptying,  the  flat  side  to  the  convenience  of  the  carrier;  the  lugs  are 
for  the  headband,  for  the  Moki  wears  the  canteen  on  the  back  and  not 
on  the  hip  with  the  strap  over  the  shoulder.  Finally,  the  whole  motive 

of  ornamentation  is  con- 
trolled by  the  industrial 
form.  The  axis  of  ornament 
has  revolved  outward  00  de- 
grees from  the  mouth  to  the 
apex  of  the  outer  side.  In 
the  great  variety  of  canteens 
figured  by  Stevenson  this  is 
true.2 

Water  jars,  globose  in 
form,with  wide  open  mouths 
and  receding  bottoms  to  fit 
the  carrier's  head  (fig.  160), 
exist  by  thousands  in  Zufii 
and  other  pueblos.3 

Carrying  on  the  head  is 
not  an  American  Indian 
native  custom.  There  are 
thousands  of  Pueblo  water 
pots  and  jars  with  concave 

From  a  fig0«  in  the  Second  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology.  bottOUlS    tO    facilitate    CaiTy- 

Cat.  No.  42129,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  James  Stevenson. 

ing  them  on  the  head.    But 

these  are  all  post-Columbian.  Not  all  the  Pueblos  even  in  our  day  prac- 
tice toting,  keeping  up  the  good  old  custom,  once  in  vogue  from  Smith 
Sound  to  Patagonia,  of  bearing  loads  on  the  back  held  in  place  by  a 
band  across  the  forehead  or  the  breast.  No  ancient  American  water 
jars  seem  to  have  concave  bottoms,  but  the  circular  padded  ring  is 
found  in  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  and  occurs  in  some  collections  from 
ancient  sites.  Dr.  J.  Walter  Fewkes  has  found  only  one  fragment  of 
a  small  jar  punched  up  at  the  bottom.  It  is  therefore  possible  that 
the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Tusayan  may  have  carried  water  on  the 


Fig.  157. 

WATER-BOTTLE   FROM   TC8AYAN,    ARIZONA,    MADE   OP  COILED 
BASKETRY  AND  COVERED  WITH  PITCH. 


'  'Figured  also  in  Rep.  Smithsonian  Inst.  (U.  S.  Nat.  Mus.),  1884,  fig.  80;  and  in  Sec- 
ond Ann.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  figs.  484-488. 

"Second  Ann.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1883,  figs.  385-397. 

3Op.  cit.,  figs.  359-384.  The  papers  of  Holmes  on  the  development  of  form  and 
ornament  should  be  examined. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION. 


465 


head  in  jars  convex  or  rounded  on  the  bottom  by  means  of  the  padded 

ring.    The  presence  of  the  rings  does  not  prove  this  altogether,  since 

their  function  may  have  been 

to  uphold  the  jar  but  not  to 

carry  it. 
The  head  and  the   breast 

band,  the  shoulder  and  atlas 

yoke,  and  toting  seem  to  have 

divided  the  earth  among  them 

in   early  times    as    carrying 

methods,  and  their  areas  are 

quite  contiguous. 
Example  No.  40473  is  called 

a  carrying  pad,  ha  kin  ne,  of 

the  Zufii  Indians.    It  is  made 

of  the  dried  leaves   of  the 

Yucca  baccata,  split  and 

plaited  as  in  making  a  whip. 

These  rings  are  made  to  tit  the 

head  comfortably,  and  serve 

the  double  purpose  of  sustain- 
ing a  jar  of  water  on  the  head 

and  holding  it  upright  on  the 

ground.    They  also  preserve 

the  soft  pottery  from  wearing 

away. 

Example  No.  4046(5,  collected  in  the  pueblos  of  Arizona  and  New 

Mexico,  illustrates  a  va- 
riety of  head  pads  used 
in  carrying  jars.  The 
Irish  milkmaid  catches 
up  a  kerchief  or  cloth 
and  by  a  quirk  or  two 
converts  it  into  a  ring 
or  crown  which  she 
places  on  her  head  be- 
fore setting  thereon  the 
brimming  pail.  The 
Zufii  water  carrier  pro- 
vides herself  with  a 
thick  ring  of  bark,  or 
especially  of  closely 
braided  yucca,  and  on 
this  she  sets  her  round- 
hottoined  jar.  The 

same  ring  serves  also  in  keeping  the  jar  upright  on  the  floor  of  her  room. 
H.  Mis.  90,  pt.  2 30 


Fig.  158. 

COABSE  UATHEEINQ-CEATE  USED  BY  THE  ZUSl  INDIANS  OF 

NEW  MEXICO. 
Cat.  No.  22971,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  James  Stevenaon. 


Fig.  159. 
CANTEEN  OF  POTTKRV,  USED  BY  THE  MOKI  INDIANS  OK  ARIZONA. 

( -:il.  S.i.  40HU3,  I!.  S.  N.  M.      Colln-tnl  liy  J»m.-  M.-W,IM,M. 


466 


REPORT    OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


The  making  of  jars  with  receding  bottoms  modifies  the  size  and  func- 
tion of  the  ring1  (fig.  161). 


Fig.  160. 

VASE  USED  FOR  CARRYING  AND  STORING  WATER  BY  THE  ZUSl  INDIANS  OF  NEW  MEXICO. 
Cat.  No.  41150,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Jamea  Stevenson. 

Coronado  (1540)  wrote  to  his  superior  in  Mexico:  "  f  send  your  lord- 
ship two  rolles  which  the  women 
in  these  parts  are  woont  to  weare 
on  their  heads  when  they  fetch 
water  from  their  wells,  as  we  used 
to  do  in  Spain;  and  one  of  these 
Indian  women  with  one  of  these 
rolles  on  her  head  will  carrie  a 
pitcher  of  water,  without  touch- 
ing the  same,  up  a  lather."2 

Leaving  the  pueblo  country 
the  student  may  transfer  his 
investigations  among  the  un- 
classed  Mission  Indians,  the  Yu- 
man,  and  the  Piman  families,  all 
about  the  Colorado  mouth.  The 
U.  S.  National  Museum  is  in- 
debted to  the  Pasadena  Asso- 
ciation and  ^o  Miss  Picher  for 
some  observations  among  the 
Mission  carrying  people.  It  is 
a  singular  fact  that  Indian  wo 
men  cut  grass  with  such  old 
knives  as  they  may  get,  dry  it, 


Fig.  161. 

HEAD-PADS  USED  BY  THE  PUEBLO  WATER-CARRIERS  OF 

NEW  MEXICO. 
Cat.  No.  40466,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Jiunex  MeveiiBiin. 


'Cf  Second  Ann.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1883,  fig.  486;  Rep.  Smithsonian  Inst. 
(U.S.  Nat.  Mas.;,  1887,  fig.  19,  Zufii  woman  carrying  water  vase. 
2  Publications  of  the  Hakluyt  Society,  London,  1890,  in,  p.  454. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


467 


and  sell  it  as  hay  to  the  Government.  The  huge  bundles  are  rolled 
up  and  tied,  and  are  carried  on  the  top  of  the  back,  being  held  up  in 
a  variety  of  ways.  In  one  case  the  good  woman  thrusts  the  end  of  a 
stick  under  the  binding  rope  and  holds  (into  that.  In  another,  the 
woman  attaches  the  ends  of  her  carrying  strap  to  tin-  wrapping  cord  of 
the  bundle,  using  the  stick  for  a  cane,  and  in  a  third  case  she  uses  both 
headband  and  staff,  holding  onto  the  latter  with  both  hands  above  the 
shoulders  (tig.  102). 

Rockhill  figures  a  woman  of  Iinamu  Ohnang  carrying  a  bundle  of 
fagots  on  her  back  by  means  of  a  shoulder  band.1 


Fig.  162. 

MISSION   INDIAN   WOMAN  OK  SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA   CAKKYINH   HAY. 

Kri.m  H  l>lloti.«rHlih  HI  Ih-  r.  S    National  Museum  Piy  MIM  Annie  I!.  I'lrh.-r. 

Example  No.  19742  (ng.  163)  is  a  basket  for  carrying  cactus  fruit, 
collected  among  the  Diegenos  Indians,  of  the  Yuman  family,  on  the  Mis- 
sion Reservation,  in  Lower  California.  As  will  be  seen,  it  is  in  twined 
weaving  of  the  rudest  sort,  a  globose  wallet,  strikingly  similar  in  shape 
to  the  great  pottery  ollas  made  and  used  by  the  neighboring  tribes. 
The  noteworthy  character  about  the  specimen  is  the  occurrence  of 
twined  weaving  so  far  south.  On  the  testimony  of  the  national  collec- 
tions there  does  not  exist  a  tribe  south  of  this  line  that  practices  it. 

K \ample  No.  2414a  (tig.  1(54)  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  specimens 
in  the  world.  It  is  the  carrying  frame  and  net  of  the  Mohave  Indians, 

1  •  •  Diary  of  a  Journey  through  Mougolia  aud  Tibet/'  1894,  Smithsoniau  I  n-t . .  p.  81. 


468 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


of  the  Yuman  stock,  dwelling  about  the  mouth  of  the  Colorado  River, 
in  Arizona.  They  live  largely  upon  the  raesquite  bean,  which  they 
gather,  pod  and  all,  and  grind  for  bread.  Two  poles  8  feet  long  bent 
in  the  form  of  an  oxbow  and  crossing  each  other  at  right  angles  form 
the  ground  work.  These  are  held  in  place  by  lashing  at  the  bottom 
and  by  a  hoop  at  the  top.  Four  or  five  strong  twines  of  agave  fiber 
pass  from  the  hoop  above  to  the  bottom  of  the  framework  between  each 
pair  of  uprights.  These  and  the  uprights  constitute  the  warp.  The 

weft  is  a  new  type  of  Indian 
textile  on  the  Pacific  Coast 
called  "wrapped"  weaving. 
A  single  twine  is  coiled  round 
and  round  the  frame,  making 
meshes  with  the  warp  half  an 
inch  wide.  Every  time  this 
weft  passes  the  warp  strings 
or  poles,  it  is  simply  wrapped 
once  around.  The  roughness 
of  the  agave  fiber  holds  the 
wrap  from  slipping  and  pre- 
serves a  tolerably  uniform 
mesh.  Foster  describes  the 
finding  of  cloth  in  a  mound 
in  Butler  County,  Ohio,  and 
figures  a  specimen  in  which 
the'twines  are  wrapped  in  the 
same  manner.1  The  head- 
band is  a  rag  tied  to  two  of 
the  upright  sticks.  This 
should  be  compared  with  the 
Jarawa  basket,  p.  433. 

The  Pima  women  make  of 
native  twine  a  kind  of  carry- 


Fig.  163. 

BASKET  FOK  GATHERING  CACTUS,  USED  BY  THE  DIEGESOS 

(YUMAN)  INDIANS  OF  CALIFORNIA. 
Cat.  No.  19742,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  hy  Kilwanl  Palmer. 


ing    basket    or    hod    called 
in   the  tradition   of  the  Casa 


kiho.     Bandolier  finds  mention  of  it 
Grande.2 

The  principle  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  Mohave  carrier  just  described, 
and  the  functions  and  environments  are  the  same,  but  the  structure  is 
different.  The  Pimas  dwell  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  Mexico,  con- 
tiguous to  the  Yuma.  They  are  by  some  considered  a  separate  family, 
by  others  to  be  allied  to  the  Nahuatl  or  Uto-Aztecan.  At  any  rate, 
their  weaving  on  the  kiho  or  carrying  basket  is  of  the  south. 

Example  No.  126680  (fig.  165)  is  a  kiho  of  the  Pimas  collected  by 
Edward  Palmer.  Ft  consists  of  four  straight  sticks  4  feet  long,  tied 


1  Foster,  "  Prehistoric  Races,"  Chicago,  187M,  p.  '22~>,  lij;.  29. 

1  Handelier,  Archaeological  Iuwt.  Am.  (Ain.  Series),  Hi,  1890,  p.  255, 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


469 


together  at  one  end  for  the  bottom  of  tin-  utensil,  and  fastened  to  a 
hoop  at  the  other  end  for  the  top. 

The  uetwork  is  done  with  a  needle,  and  not  with  tin*  lingers.  It  is 
netting  or  lace  work,  and  not  weaving  at  all.  There  is  nothing  to  serve 
as  a  warp.  The  whole  surface  of  the  frame  is  covered  by  a  continuous 
coil  of  agave  fiber  twine  from  bottom  to  top.  Each  coil  is  looped  into 
the  one  beneath  it  by  a  "buttonhole  stitch  "  or  u  half  hitch,"  as  shown 
in  the  drawing.  In  the  Mexican  hammocks  each  coil  is  simply  caught 
under  the  preceding  at  regular  intervals,  while  in  more  pretentious 
work  the  moving  part  is 
wrapped  once,  twice,  or  three 
times  about  the  standing  part 
as  in  Canadian  snowshoes. 

Accompanying  this  speci- 
men and  every  other  one  of  the 
kind  in  actual  life  is  the  staff, 
which  serves  a  multitude  of 
purposes  to  be  explained  later. 

The  Pimas  and  their  neigh- 
bors make  use  of  gourds  as  well 
as  of  pottery  in  carrying  water 
and  more  compact  freight. 

Example  No.  76047  (tig.  16(5) 
is  a  carrying  gourd  from  the 
Pi  ma  country,  collected  by 
Edward  Palmer.  It  is  inter- 
esting in  this  connection  on 
account  of  the  net  in  which  it 
is  inclosed.  About  the  bot- 
tom the  twine  is  laid  in  the 
style  of  the  Pima  kiho.  It  is 
coiled  in  "half  hitches."  About 
the  top  it  is  served  around  the 
gourd  itself  in  a  series  of  half 
hitches.  The  headband  is  a  rag  caught  into  the  network. 

Example  No.  19478  is  a  globular  gourd  from  San  Diego,  Cal.,  Mission 
Indians.  It  is  mounted  in  two  zones  of  leather  above  and  below,  with 
lash  ing  of  rawhide  rove  through  holes  cut  along  their  inner  border  like 
the  snare  of  a  drum,  holding  about  a  gallon. 

The  Papago  Indians  of  northwestern  Mexico  make  a  very  elaborate 
carrying  device  also  called  "kiho."  Example  No.  7(>(K'i3  (fig.  167)  is  a 
small  sized  kiho  collected  by  Edward  Palmer.  Four  sticks  and  a  hoop, 
as  in  the  specimen  last  described,  form  the  ground  work,  but  they  are 
disposed  quite  differently.  Two  of  them,  forming  the  back  of  the  uten- 
sil, are  6  feet  long,  and  extend  below  the  kiho  for  le-js  and  above  it  for 
binding  the  top  load.  The  front  pair  of  sticks  start  from  the  back  pair  a 


Fig.  164. 

CARRYING-BASKET,    WRAPPED    WEAVIXU,     USED     BV 

MOHAVE  INI  HANS  OF  ARIZONA. 
Cat.  No.  2414.V  C.  s.  N.  M.     Collected  by  KdwarJ  Palmer. 


470 


REPORT    OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


foot,  more  or  less,  from  the  ground  and  are  lashed  to  the  hoop  which 

forms  the    upper    border.      This 

hoop  is  so  adjusted  to  these  four 

sticks  that  when   the   woman  is 

leaning  forward  with  the  load  on 

her  back  the  hoop  shall  be  hori- 

zontal. 
Covering  the  space  between  the 

hoop  and  the  junction  of  the  four 

sticks  is  a  pyramidal  bag  of  net- 

work starting  from  a  ring  of  twine 

at  the  bottom  and  wrapped  about 

the  hoop  at  the  top.    This  net- 

work   is  like  that  on  the   Pima 

basket,  but  is  rendered  ornamen- 

tal by  varying,  according  to  a  pre- 

determined plan,  the  number  of 

times  the  moving  part   shall  be 

wrapped  about  the  standing  part. 

The  Papago  Indians  of  the  Piman 

stock    have   been  lately  studied 

carefully  by  Professor  McGee,  of 

the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  and  ex- 

cellent descriptions  and  pictures 

of  the  carriers  secured.    It  is  a 

puzzle  in  technographic    studies 

that  the  lacework  on  their  carry- 

ing frame,  or  kiho,  commonly  called  the  buttonhole  or  half-  hitch  stitch, 

finds  its  most  northern  ex- 
tension among  the  Piman 
stock.  Nowhere  in  the 
Pueblo  tribes  is  it  found, 
according  to  the  collec- 
tions of  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum.  But  south  of 
the  Piman  it  occurs  in 
Central  America,  in  Latin 
South  America  as  far 
south  as  Tierra  del  Fuego, 
where  it  will  be  found  to 
be  the  only  attempt  at 
textiles.  The  open-work 
pattern  is  produced  by  en- 
largement  arid  inultipli- 


Fig.  165. 

CARRYINQ-BASKET  OF  COILED  NETTING,  USED  BY  THE 

PIMA  INDIANS  OF  ARIZONA. 
Cat.  No.  126680,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Edward  Palmer. 


rig.  lee. 


CARRYING  -GOURD  IN  NETWORK,  USED  BY  PIMA  INDIANS  OF  ARIZONA. 
Ca,No.7604r(U.S.*.M.     Co,,ect,n,y  Edward  P»,me, 


.        The  half 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


471 


or  centrifugally;  that  is,  each  one  or  a  ^series  of  them  may  1><1  made  on 
;i  larger  gauge.  The  nuiltiplication  takes  place  in  (ho  number  of  winds 
of  the  moving  about  the  standing  part  in  each  stitch.  The  pattern  is  in 
fact  a  matter  of  counting  ami  a  fair  indication  of  progress  in  arithme- 
tic and  geometry  made  by  the  Papagos. 

This  network  is  woven  from  a  ring  or  loop  of  cord  about  0  inches  in 
diameter,  and  spreads  out  tent  like  to  tit  a  hemp  2  or  3  feet  in  diameter. 
This  hoop  is  attached  to  3  or  more  poles  of  varying  length,  which  act 
as  spreaders,  stays,  foot  rests,  handles,  staucheons,  etc.  To  complete 
the  outfit  a  mat  of  diagonal  weaving  in  yucca  tiber  extends  along  one 
side  of  the  apparatus,  to  act 
as  a  pad  to  protect  the  back, 
and  a  headband  is  fastened  by 
its  ends  to  two  of  the  upright 
sticks. 

Accompanying  the  kiho  al- 
ways is  a  staff'  about  4  feet 
long,  with  a  short  crotch  on 
the  top.  Mr.  William  Dinwid- 
die,  who  accompanied  Profes- 
sor McGee,  secured  excellent 
photographs  of  a  woman  ris- 
ing with  the  kiho,  loaded  with 
pottery  and  other  objects  (figs. 
168-170).  The  kiho  is  stood 
upon  its  two  short  legs  while 
the  woman  sits  down  with  her 
back  against  it  and  draws  the 
headband  across  her  forehead. 
Virtually,  she  harnesses  her- 
self to  the  load.  Taking  her 
staff'  firmly  in  the  right  hand 
and  grasping  the  hoop  with 
the  left  hand,  she  leans  for- 
ward and  throws  the  load  upon 
her  back.  Rising  thereafter  is 
a  matter  of  several  movements,  in  which  the  good  right  hand  and 
the  staff"  play  a  prominent  part.  She  is  now  ready  to  walk  away  with 
her  load. 

The  professional  carriers  of  Mexico,  men  and  women,  use  two  kinds 
of  headband  and  the  breastband,  either  singly  or  combined,  and  the 
kinds  of  receptacles  that  are  attached  to  the  body  thereby,  as  well  as 
the  varieties  of  merchandise  therein,  are  innumerable.  The  loads 
shown  on  their  backs  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  collection  of 
photos  are  bales  of  hemequin  fiber,  bales  of  goods  formed  up  to  suit 
the  carrier,  coops  of  poultry,  all  sorts  of  marketing  and  retail  mer- 


Fig.  167. 

KIHO,  OR  I>AI»A(i<>  rARKYINQ-FKAMK,  IN  LACK  WORK. 
Out.  No.  IfittW,  T.  S.  N.   M.      Coll«-|«i  hy  Kdwiird  Pnllnrr. 


472 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


ciiandise,  furniture,  pottery,  basketry,  water  and   pulque,  frequently 
many  times  more  bulky  than  the  porter  himself.     The  water  carrier  is 


Fig.  108. 

PAPAGO  WOMAN  ADJUSTING  KIHO. 

rom  a  photograph  in  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 


a  man  whose  neck  muscles  are  marvels  of  toughness,  for  he  supports  a 
globular  canteen  on  his  back  by  means  of  a  headband  across  his  fore- 


Fig.  1«9. 

PAPAGO  WOMAN  RISING  WITH  KIHO. 

From  a  photograph  in  the  Rureall  of  Ethnology 


head  at  the  same  time  that  he  supports  a  pitcher  in  front  of  him  by 
means  of  a  strap  over  the  bregma.     This  process  is  better  shown  in  a 


•  EXPLANATION    OF    PLATE    24. 
MEXICAN  WATER  PEDDLER. 

The  man  wears  the  sun  and  rain  hat,  and  the  old-time  sandals  without  the  single 
toe  string.  The  long  vessel  derives  its  form  not  from  the  imitation  of  a  natural 
object,  but  from  several  exigencies.  It  is  to  be  slung  below  the  center  of  gravity, 
to  fit  the  back  somewhat,  to  be  carried  by  means  of  a  band  across  the  forehead,  to 
enable  the  bearer  to  empty  the  liquid  by  bending  his  back.  The  straps  about  the 
neck  of  the  vessel,  held  by  its  other  end  in  his  left  hand,  are  for  the  purpose  of 
drawing  down  and  guiding  the  mouth  of  the  can. 

The  plate  is  from  a  photograph  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  by  Rev.  E.  F.  X. 
Cleveland,  of  Dundee,  111.,  who  saya  that  this  is  the  method  of  distributing  water 
in  Guanajuato,  and  that  the  metric  system  of  measures  is  employed  in  selling,  as 
may  be  seen  by  the  cup  at  the  top  of  the  can.  The  town  is  in  a  valley  between 
precipitous  hills.  A  delightful  spring  on  the  side  of  the  mountain  is  conducted 
to  reservoirs,  whence  the  carriers  obtain  their  stock. 


Report  of  National  Museum,  1894.— Mason. 


PLATE  24. 


MEXICAN  WATER  PEDDLER. 

From  a  photograph  in  the  U.  8.  National  Museum  presented  by  Rev.  E.  F.  X.  Cleveland. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


473 


sketch  of  a  butcher  made  for  the  author  by  W.  H.  Holmes  (fig.  171). 
Tlie  economy  of  supporting  force  is  equaled  by  the  economy  of  points 
of  attachment.  This  man  is  at  once  Pueblo  Indian,  packer,  and  the 
inventor  of  a  new  method  of  self-imposition  in  the  form  of  a  load 
hanging  in  front. 

Illustrating  the  carriers  of  liquids  there  is  in  the  IT.  S.  National  Mu- 
seum a  photograph  of  a  water  peddler  of  Guanajuato  worthy  of  closest 
study,  for  he  looks  as  though  he  had  dropped  in  from  Cairo  Q>1.  24). 


Fig.  170. 

PAPAQO  WOMAN  WITH  Kill"  PROPERLY  MOUNTED. 
From  H  i>hoi»|rnph  in  the  Bureau  ofEthnnlofy. 


He  has  on  his  back  a  jar  4  feet  in  length  slang  in  leather  straps  and 
hung  to  himself  by  a  headband  attached  to  the  bottom  of  the  jar.  To 
the  top  of  the  jar  is  fastened  a  strap  the  other  end  of  which  he  holds 
111  his  left  hand.  In  order  to  deliver  his  water  he  uses  his  spine  as  a 
pivot  by  which  the  jar  can  be  brought  to  a  horizontal  position  and 
guided  by  the  straps. 

"The  cargadores  are  trained  from  boyhood  to  carry  heavy  burdens 
over  great  distances.    Don  Pepe  expected  them  to  travel  8  leagues  a 


474  REPORT   OP    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

day.  But  when  carrying  lighter  loadvS  they  will  sometimes  travel  for 
several  consecutive  days  at  the  rate  of  nearly  40  English  miles  a  day. 
When  the  cargo  bearers  were  moving  in  single  tile  with  their  burdens, 
they  looked  like  the  Tamemes  bearing  tribute  to  Montezuina,  as  repre- 
sented in  the  ancient  pictures.  It  is  probable  that  these  men  were 
enduring  labors  similar  to  thoSe  that  had  been  performed  by  their 
ancestors  for  centuries  before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards." ! 

The  Mexican  carrier  enters  into  serious  competition  with  all  modern 
schemes  to  improve  his  country.  Over  the  devious  and  painful  trails 
of  the  mountains  he  knows  the  shortest  cuts.  Once  in  a  while  his 


Fig.  171. 
MEXICAN  BUTCHER  USING  TWO  HEAD-BANDS. 

From  a  sketch  by  W.  H.  Holm.-s. 

trail  lies  across  the  railroad,  which  he  pauses  for  an  instant  to  contem- 
plate, and  then  he  proceeds  on  his  way,  a  bit  of  the  olden  time  crossing 
the  path  of  the  nineteenth  century  (fig.  172).  As  in  the  drawing,  his 
load  on  his  back  may  be  supported  by  breastband,  or  the  more  ancient 
headband  may  be  in  vogue.  Some  of  his  dress  is  modern,  but  his  hat, 
or  migratory  house  to  defend  his  head  from  heat  and  rain  and  his  eyes 
from  the  beating  sun,  is  old;  it  is  a  survival.  His  sandals,  especially 
dedicated  to  the  travel  and  transportation  industry,  are  old  in  form,  but 
the  coming  of  the  Spaniard  brought  him  horses  and  cattle  and  rawhide, 


'Lindesay  Brine,  "The  American  Indians;  Their  Earthworks  and  Temples,"  Lon- 
don, 1894,  pp.  283-284. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


475 


which  he  did  not  have  previously,  and  so  there  is  about  his  feet  just  a 
suggestion  of  Mediterranean  influence.  On  the  very  top  of  his  load  is 
his  water  Mask  of  gourd,  that  the  ingenious  horticulturist  has  compelled 
to  grow  with  a  constriction  about  its  middle  for  the  sole  occupation  of 
its  carrying  strap.  Heneath  that  is  his  poncho  or  shawl,  at  once  cloak. 


-'"''•  ..%• 

t^aii'Tx* .,, 

<•»-•>, 


'•> 


1 
><$  fe 


Fig.  172. 

PROFESSIONAL  CAKKIER. 

Mexico. 

From  i  drawing  by  \V.  II    >  hnniili-r. 

bed  cover,  and  umbrella.     On  his  back  between  it  and  the  load  is  a  soft 
padding,  prelude  to  all  saddle  blankets. 

The  I  .  S.  National  Museum  is  indebted  to  E.  F.  X.  Cleveland  for 
a  photo  of  the  Mexican  carrier  in  the  last  act  of  his  drama  (fig.  173;. 
In  this  he  has  quit  his  mountain  path  and  rivalry  of  the  locomotive  and 
freight  car  in  one,  and  is  in  the  act  of  carrying  coal  to  feed  the  iron  horse. 
His  old-time  hat  gives  place  to  the  porter's  cap.  The  visor  is  ouly  the 


476  REPORT   OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 

shadow  of  the  luxurious  briin  of  his  native  sombrero.  He  can  not  dis- 
card the  headband.  His  limbs  are  as  bare  as  he  is  allowed  to  wear 
them,  and  his  sandals  have  antique  elements. 

The  carrying  pole  has  a  place  in  the  Mexican  transportation  indus- 
try.   Example  No.  126592  (fig.  174)  is  a  carrying  device  of  great  interest 
from  Guadalajara,  Mexico.     The  yoke  is  a  flat  piece  of  wood,  slightly 
bent  and  pierced  at  the  ends  for  slings  or  nooses.     There  is  no  cutting 
away  to  fit  the  shoulder,  but  the  utensil  may  be  worn  as  a  Holland 
^  yoke  or  .as  a  Chinese  pole  ad  libitum.     The  sling  at  each  extremity  is  of 
"  leather,  attached  by  passing  the  bend  through  the  hole  and  over  the 
end.    The  noose  or  slipknot  at  the  other  end  of  the  sling  is  for  attach- 


Fig.  173. 

MEXICAN  COAI.  CAKRIKR. 
From  n  photograph  in  II..-  T.  S.  N;,ti.,n;i!  .V.umum  by  K.  K.  X.  Cleveland. 

ment  to  the  top  of  ajar.  In  this  specimen  form  is  determined  by  func- 
tion. But  the  apparatus  has  another  interest,  for  it  lies  exactly  on  the 
boundary  line  between  the  man  carrier  and  the  donkey  carrier.  The 
jars  should  have  been  drawn  with  round  bottoms.  They  fit  into  a 
wooden  rack,  one-half  of  which  is  shown  in  miniature  in  the  drawing. 
By  fastening  two  of  these  together  and  throwing  them  over  the  back 
of  a  donkey  four  jars  full  of  liquid  may  be  carried,  or,  as  one  may  see 
every  day  in  San  Luis  Potosi,  the  four  jars  rest  in  a  rack,  beneath 
which  is  a  wooden  wheel  suggestive  of  the  Chinese  type.  In  point  of 
fact,  the  student  is  witness  to  the  two  transfers  of  loads,  to  wit,  that 
onto  the  wheel  and  that  onto  the  beast. 


PRIMITIVE  TRAVEL  AND  TRANSPORTATION. 


477 


"The  Indians  of  central  Yucatan  are  accustomed  to  carrying,  which 
their  fathers  pursued  before  them  from  time  immemorial,  and  they  not 
only  carry  merchandise  and  the  baggage  of  travelers,  but  travelers 
themselves."1 

The  mozos  or  porters  of  Guatemala  are  obliged.  when  ordered  1>\  the 
comandancia,  to  carry  burdens  not  to  exceed  four  arrobas  (KM) pounds). 
Their  pay  is  ;i  reales.  ;md  they  must  not  be  sent  beyond  their  district. 
They  support  the  burden  with  the  mecapal,  a  rawhide  strap,  against 
the  forehead.  The  frame  is  called  carcaste  by  the  Quiche'.'-' 

"The  women  have  a  certain  kind  of  dignity  in  their  manner,  caused, 
in  a  great  measure,  by  their 
usage  of  carrying  water  jars 
and  pans  of  crockery  poised 
upon  their  heads.  They  there- 
fore walk  slowly  and  hold 
themselves  upright.  This  cus- 
tom, which  begins  from  early 
childhood  and  forms  part  of 
their  daily  life,  has  the  result 
of  giving  them  good  figures 
and  a  particularly  graceful 
movement. 

"The  men,  on  the  contrary, 
have  a  crouching  appearance, 
caused  by  the  method  in  which 
they  have  been  accustomed 
from  boyhood  to  carry  their 
burdens.  They  relieve  the 
pressure  of  the  weight  on  their 
backs  by  means  of  a  broad 
band  passed  over  the  forehead, 
and  thus,  by  bending  forward. 
the  load  is  made  less  oppres- 
sive. The  men  and  boys  con- 
sequently contract  a  stooping 
posture,  and  this  presents  an 
unfavorable  contrast  to  the  women,  whose  bearing  is  precisely  the  reverse. 
There  is  another  circumstance  which  has  its  influence  in  shaping  the 
figures  of  the  women.  They  carry  all  small  things  on  the  open  palm  of 
the  left  hand,  which  is  thrown  back  and  held  well  raised  up.  In  fact, 
the  same  causes  which  affect  the  appearance  of  the.  Indians  in  North 
America  are  present  here,  but  with  the  difference  that  there  it  is  the 
squaw  who  contracts  the  stooping  and  bent  figure,  through  carrying 


Fi-. 174. 

<  AKKYINIi-JAKS,  WITH  POLK  AND   CliATK    KOK  SAMK. 

( inadalajara,  M.-\i..i. 
t  at.  S.i.  \W!Ot,  I'.  S.  N.  M.     Collm-tnl  l.y  Kilwanl  I'al r. 


'Morelet,  "Travels  in  Central  America," New  York,  1871, p.  279. 
-  iirighuiu,  "  (jiuateuuiia,"  New  York,  1887,  p.  78;  figure,  p.  98. 


478 


REPORT   OF    NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 


her  children  and  other  burdens,  and  it  is  the  man  who  maintains  the 

upright  figure  and  dignified  manner."  l 

Example  No.  129654  (fig.  175)  from  Honduras,  is  a  simple  net  made 

of  twine  in  one  continuous  piece,  wrapped 
backward  and  forward  to  form  the  warp  and 
then  woven  through  plainly  for  the  weft. 
Leaving  a  few  inches  for  attachment  the 
selvage  at  each  end  is  formed  by  twined 
weaving  almost  out  of  place  in  this  area. 
The  square  netting  is  also  rare,  most  of  the 
bags  and  hammocks  being  in  the  netted 
style. 

Example  No.  126805  (fig.  176)  is  a  carrying 
frame  from  Honduras,  collected  by  Consul 
A.  E.  Morlan.  To  the  student  of  compara- 
tive technography  it  is  worthy  of  close  atten- 
tion. It  is  framed 
on  two  poles,  on 
which  rests  a  struc- 
ture suggestive  of 
the  California 
baby  cradles,  and 
of  the  porters' 
frames  of  West 
Africa.  The  sides 
and  border  are  of 
wood,  parineled 
with  a  textile  in 
diagonal  weaving. 
It  is  quite  within 
the  area  of  prob- 


Cat.  No.  129654,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  I.; 
Townsend. 


Pig.  175. 

CARETING-NET  FKOM  HONDURAS. 

i  C.  K. 

ability  that  in  this 

device  there  are  borrowed  African  features. 
That  the  negro  race,  introduced  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  sixteenth  century  into  middle 
America,  modified  and  in  places  crowded  out 
the  aboriginal  arts  is  easily  proven.  In  the 
museum  of  the  Peabody  Academy  in  Salem  is 
a  carrying  frame  labeled  Panama,  which  I  here  rig.ne. 

produce  through   the   kindness  of  Prof.   E.    S.    CAKRYING-FRAME  FROM  HONDURAS. 

Morse  (fig.  177).  It  consists  simply  of  two  palm  <•=«'•  »»•  i»»*,  u.  s.  N.  M.  coii«-t«j  by 
fronds  in  which  the  stalks  are  the  basis  sticks, 

and  the  network  is  made  up  of  the  leaflets  twined  together.  A  headband 
of  cotton  cloth  completes  the  outfit.  This  specimen  is  almost  identical 
with  fig.  107,  from  West  Africa. 

1  Lindesay  Brine,  "The  American  Indians;  Their  Earthworks  and  Temples,"  Lon- 
dou,  1894,  pp.  188-189. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


479 


"About  St.  Pierre,  in  Martinique,"  says  Lafcadio  Hearn,  "the  erect 

carriage  and  steady,  swift  walk  of  the  women  who  bear  burdens  is 

likely  to  impress  the  artistic  observer 
*     *     *     and  the  larger  part  of  the 

female  population  of  mixed  blood  are 

practiced  carriers.    Nearly  all  the  trans- 
portation of  light  merchandise  as  well 

as  of  meats,  fruits,  vegetables,  and  food 

stuffs  to  and  from  the  interior  is  effected 

upon  human  heads.     *     *     *     Packets 

are  loaded  and  unloaded  by  women  and 

girls — able  to  carry  any  trunk  or  box  to 

its  destination.     At  Fort  de  France  the 

great  steamers  are  entirely  coaled  by 

women,  who  carry  coal  on  their  heads, 

singing  as  they  come  and  go  in  proces- 
sions of  hundreds.     The  highest  type 

of  professional  female  carrier  is  to  the 

charbonniere,  or  coaling  girl,  what  the 

thoroughbred  racer  is  to  the  draft  horse— 
the  type  of  por- 
teuse  selected  for 
swiftness  and  en- 
durance to  dis- 
tribute goods  in 
the  interior  par- 
ishes, or  to  sell 
on  commission  at 
long  distances. 

"At  a  very  early  age  she  learns  to  carry  small 
articles  upon  her  head,  a  decanter  of  water,  or  an 
orange  in  a  plate.  At  9  or  10  she  is  able  to  tote 
a  tolerably  heavy  basket  or  a  tray  weighing  from 
L'O  to  30  pounds  and  to  walk  barefoot  12  or  15 
miles  a  day.  At  16  or  17  she  carries  a  tray  and 
burden  of  120  to  150  pounds'  weight  or  walks  50 
miles  a  day  as  an  itinerant  seller.  *  *  *  The 
weightis  so  great  that  no  well  freighted  portense 
can  unassisted'  either  load  or  unload  herself.  She 
can  not  even  sit  down  under  her  burden.  *  *  * 
"She  wears  no  shoes.  She  must  climb  thou- 
sands and  descend  thousands  of  feet  every  day ; 
march  up  and  down  slopes  so  steep  that  the  horses 
of  the  country  all  break  down  after  a  few  years."1 
In  St.  Pierre  itself  women  carry  burdens  on  the  head,  "peddling 


Fig.  177. 


CAHKYINfi-KRAMK     OP     I'ALM      KROND,    FROM 

1'ANAMA. 
from  *  npecimen  in  the  Peabody  Academy,  Salmi,  Mau. 


Fig.  178. 

PORTETI8K,   OK     CARRIER 
I.KS8ER  ANTII.LKS. 

From  a  litiir.-  in  Hrarn'i  "  Miibmii 
in  thr  Trnpii-. " 


•Hearn,  "Two  Years  iu  the  French  West  Indies,"  New  York,  1890,  p.  103. 


480 


REPORT    OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


vegetables,  cakes,  fruit,  ready-cooked  food,  from  door  to  door  (fig.  178). 
*  *  *  These  women  can  walk  all  day  long  up  and  down  hill  in  the 
hot  sun,  without  shoes,  carrying  loads  of  from  100  to  150  pounds  on  their 
heads,  and  if  their  little  stock  sometimes  fails  to  come  up  to  the  accus 
tomed  weight,  stones  are  added  to  make  it  heavy  enough.  *  *  * 
I  have  seen  a  grand  piano  carried  on  the  heads  of  four  men.  With  the 
women  the  load  is  seldom  steadied  with  the  hand.*'1 

The  coaling  at  Kingston,  Jamaica,  is  done  by  women.  They  lift  the 
baskets  upon  their  heads  and  walk  on  board  the  ship,  and  as  they  go 
round  the  plank  and  come  out  there  is  a  little  brass  piece  given  each 
one.  These  women  are  very  skillful  in  Cura£ao.  They  have  been 

known  to  take  numerous  clothes  bas- 
kets on  their  heads  and  march  along. 
You  hear  them  paddling  all  day  long; 
it  is  a  continuous  clatter.  One  of  the 
curious  things  about  them  is  the  fact 
that  the  poorest  of  them  will  have 
their  pure  white  clothes,  and  a  friend 
writes  that  in  the  Spanish  islands 
you  can  buy  from  them  just  as  much 
with  a  3-cent  piece  as  with  a  10-cent 
piece.  They  bore  a  hole  through  it 
because  they  fear  that  travelers  will 
spend  it  again.  Coal  is  transported 
to  these  islands;  the  steamer  comes 
right  up  alongside  the  wharf,  and 
women  carry  the  freight. 

In  the  South  American  Cordilleras 
the  carrying  art  has  little  new  infor- 
mation to  offer.  This  much  is  true, 
that  the  configuration  of  the  country 
and  the  political  and  commercial  con- 
ditions resulting  therefrom  multiplied 
the  number  of  backs  that  had  burdens  to  bear,  made  of  them  a  class 
or  caste,  organized  them  into  more  complex  social  units,  and  greatly 
increased  the  length  of  the  journey.  Long  roads  were  laid  out,  paved 
in  some  places,  bridges  were  thrown  over  deep  chasms,  and  a  system 
;>f  relays  was  established. 
Humboldt,  speaking  of  the  carriers  in  his  day,  says: 

In  those  times  of  oppression  and  cruelty  (sixteenth  century)  which  have  been 
described  as  the  era  of  Spanish  glory  the  commendatorios  (encomienderos)  let  out 
the  Indians  to  travelers  like  beasts  of  burden.  They  were  assembled  by  hundreds, 
either  to  carry  merchandise  across  the  Cordilleras  or  to  follow  the  armies  in  their 
expeditions  of  discovery  and  pillage.  The  Indians  endured  this  service  more 
patiently  because,  owing  to  the  almost  total  want  of  domestic  animals,  they  had 


Fig.  179. . 

NAPO   INDIAN   CARRIER. 

Ecuador. 

From  a  figure  in  Stanford's  Compendiun 


'Hearn,  "Midsummer  in  the  Tropios,"  New  York,  1890,  p.  40. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


481 


long  been  constrained  to  perform  it,  though  in  a  less  inhuman  manner  under  the 
government  of  their  own  chiefs.1 

The  explorers  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  found  the  Indians  engaged 
in  commerce,  and  upon  their  backs  laid  tin-  timbers  of  the  first  boats 
ever  sailed  on  the  Pacific  by  European*.  In  Stanford  is  the  picture  of 
a  Napo  Indian  carrier  (fig.  179).  Tin-  ><  ant  costume,  the  basket  of 
cane,  the  headband,  the  two  staves,  are  of  old.  The  shabby  dress 
replaces  the  old-time  clothing  of  bark  cloth  universally  donned  by  the 
natives  of  tropical  America  formerly. 

Elassaurek  says  that  the  Indians  of  Ecuador  carry  evert  hing  on 
their  backs,  the  load  being  tied  to  their  forehead.  Their  strength  lies 
in  the  muscles  of  the  neck  and  not  in  their  arms.  They  carry  stone, 
brick,  sand,  lime,  furniture,  vegetables,  meat. 
etc.,  and  pass  along  laughing  or  talking,  or  in 
sullen  silence,  but  you  never  hear  them  sing.2 

Near  Quito  the  traveler  is  surprised  by  the 
sight  of  many  an  Indian  woman,  who  not  only 
carries  a  load  on  her  back,  with  a  babe  tied  to 
the  top  of  the  carga,  but  also  spins  cotton  as 
she  trots  along.3  Mrs.  Fannie  B.  Ward  says 
that  she  has  seen  Peruvian  women  and  men 
walking  along  by  the  side  of  a  llama  spinning 
the  wool  that  the  animal  was  shedding,  using 
the  creature  for  a  natural  distal!'. 

Whymper  figures  a  man  carrying 
a  huge  jar  of  water  (fig.  180).  He  is 
barefooted  and  clad  in  European 
dress.  Upon  his  lower  back  rests  a 
pad  of  cloth  and  on  the  top  of  this 
the  vessel,  round  bottomed  and  in- 
closed in  a  sliDgor  network  in  which 
the  two  rope  rings  rest  against  the 
sides  of  the  jar  in  stead  of  around  the 
neck  and  the  bottom.  These  are 
united  by  cross  lines  so  as  to  retain  the  vessel  from  all  directions. 
A  strap  passes  from  the  network  around  the  man's  breast.  There  is 
no  headband.4 

The  aboriginal  water  carrier  of  Cajamarca  figured  by  Wiener  is  clad 
partly  in  native  and  partly  in  European  rags;  but  his  water  jar  is  of  the 
universal  type,  globose,  with  lugs  on  the  side,  through  which  a  braided 
rope  passes  and  thence  over  the  right  shoulder  and  under  the  left  arm.s 

1  Humboldt's  Travels,  Bohn,  11,  p.  31. 

•  Hassan  rek,  "  Four  Years  Among  Spanish  Americans,"  New  York,  18H7,  ]>]< 

llassaurek,  op.  cit.,  p.  89. 

'"Great  Andes  of  the  Equator,"  New  York,  1892,  Scrilm.T.  p.  169. 
et  Bolivit-.  '  p.  l-'s 

H.  Mis.  90,  pt.  2 31 


Fig.  180. 

HKVl'  I    KOH  CABKYINO  WATKK  .IAKONTHE  HACK. 
Krom  a  figure  in  Whyinper'n  "  urrnt  Anden  of  the  Kqu»tor." 


482 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 


Baiinondy  says  the  Jivaro  of  northern  Peru  carry  loads  of  a  hun- 
dredweight with  ease  over  the  worst  of  mountain  tracts.  The  women  use 
a  covering  for  the  lower  portion  of  the  body,  called  the  pampanilla,  pro- 
tecting sometimes  the  upper  portion  with  a  man- 
tle, in  which  they  generally  carry  their  children 
before  them.  The  Llameo,  Cocama,  and  Omagua 
of  Nanta  are  land  carriers  and  boatmen.1 

On  the  Brazilian  coast  Hawkins  (1593)  saysthat 
"•the  women  fetch  the  water  and  do  all  drudgerie 
whatsoever.  Their  childe  they  carry  in  a  wallet 
about  their  iiecke,  ordinarily  under  one  arme." 
If  one  kills  any  game  in  hunting  he  does  not 
bring  it  home,  but  strews  leaves  to  mark  his' 
path  and  sends  his  wife  back  after  it.  On  a 
journey  or  going  to  war  the  women  carry  all. 

Example  No.  131222  (fig.  181)  in  the  U.  S. 
National  Museum  collections,  from  Sandy  Point, 
Straits  of  Magellan,  is  the  model  of  a  carrying 
basket  made  of  rushes,  a  specimen  of  which  is  to 
be  found  in  every 
Fuegian  bark 
canoe.  The  nota- 
ble feature  about 
the  specimen  is 
that  while  it  is  a 
coiled  basket  it 
also  has  the  pe- 
culiar characteristic  of  the  Central  Am- 
erican netted  bagging.  As  in  all  spiral 
basketry,  the  foundation  is  a  rod  or  a 
bunch  of  fiber  coiled  continuously  from 
bottom  to  top.  These  coils  are  held  to- 
gether, not  by  a  continuous  whipping  or 
sewing,  but  by  a  series  of  half  hitches  or 
buttonhole  stitches.  The  Japanese  lunch 
baskets  carried  by  school  children  have  a 
similar  stitch,  but  the  weft  is  wider  and 
more  closely  woven'.  The  handle  of  the 
basket  is  plaited. 

The  Patagonians  are  said  to  build  up 
their  hair  with  a  "hair  lace  of  ostrige  feath- 
ers, and  make  it  a  stoar  house  for  all  things    *     *     *     a  quiver  for 
their  arrows,  a  sheath  for  their  knives,  a  box  for  fiersticks,  etc."2 


Fig.  181. 

CARRYING  BASKET,  COILED  IN 
HALF  HITCH  OR  BUTTONHOLE 
STITCH. 

Straits  of  Magellan. 

Cat.  No.  131222,  1).  S.  N.  M. 


Fig.  182. 


States  Eiplo 
1842." 


Wilkes'  "Narrative  of  the  United 
ng  Expedition  during  the  years  1838- 


'Raimondy,  ''Indian  Tribes  of  the  Great  District  of  Loreto,  Northern  Peru," 
Anthrop.  Rev.,  London,  1863,  i,  No.  1,  pp.  3<1  W. 

-Drake,  "Th<;  World  Encompassed,"  Publications  of  the  llakluyt  Society,  London, 
1854,  pp.  50,  52. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


483 


Mr.  iin  Tliurn  says  that  in  <  Iiiiana  tin-  hard  work  falls  to  the  women. 
They  clean  the  house,  fetch  water  and  firewood,  cook  the  food,  make 
the  bread,  nurse  the  children,  plant  tin-  fields,  dip  the  produce,  and 
when  the  men  travel  the  women  carry  whatever  baggage  is  necessary. 
The  women  bring  water  for  the  house  in  clay  bottles 
or  gourds  (goobies),  or  they  take  surianas,  large  lias 
kets  fitting  on  the  back  and  supported  by  a  hand 
across  the  forehead,  and  fetch  heavy  loads  of  fire- 
wood.1 

Carrying  on  the  head  is  most  common  in  I'.ra/il. 
M.  Biard  gives  a  .uivat  variety  <>f  methods  of  sub- 
mitting the  head  to  a  load,  among  them  a  single 
negro  toting  five  empty  wine  casks,  and  a  company 
of  six  hearing  a  grand  piano  on  the  head,  keeping 
time  to  the  sound  of  a  rattle.2 

Accord  ing  to  Wilkes  the  slaves  a  re  almost  the  only 
carriers  of  burdens  in  Kio  .Janeiro.  They  go  almost 
naked,  and  are  exceedingly  numerous.  They  appear 
to  work  with  cheerfulness,  and  go  together  in  gangs, 
with  a  leader  who  carries  a  rattle  filled  with  stones 
(fig.  182).  With  this  he  keeps  time,  causing  them 
all  to  move  on  a  dogtrot.  Each  one  joins  in  the 

monotonous    chorus,   the 

notes  seldom  varying  above 

a  third  from  the  key.     The 

words    they   use    are    fre- 
quently relative    to    their 

own  country;  sometimes  to 

what  they  heard  from  their 


Fit;.  183. 

•  •AHKYIMi-KKAMK,  KlfoM 
rPPERSHINOr,  I1KA/.II.. 

FromR  figure  in  von  den  SleincnV 
"  Unter  den  Natunrolkirii  /.en- 
tral-HrMiliens." 


master  as  they  started  with  their  load,  but  the 
sound  is  the  same.  The  coffee  carriers  go  in 
gangs  of  twenty  or  thirty.  In  singing,  one-halt' 
take  the  air,  with  one  or  two  keeping  up  a  kind 
of  hum  on  the  common  chord,  and  the  remainder 
finish  the  bar.  These  slaves  are  required  by 
their  masters  to  obtain  a  certain  sum  according 
to  their  ability,  say,  from  25  to  50  cents  a  day, 
and  to  pay  it  every  evening.  The  surplus  be- 
longs to  themselves.  In  default  of  not  gaining 
the  requisite  sum,  castigat  ion  is  always  inflicted. 

The  usual  load  is  about  200  pounds.1     The  methods  employed  are  from 

the  Old  World  and  especially  negroid. 


Fig.  184. 

CARRYING  •  BASKET     OK     ("II. I  IP 
NETTING,    FROM   BKA/II-. 

Cat.   No.   i:>2M7,  I'.  S   N.  M.     Collrcir.l 
bjrF.  G    Fry 


1  iin  Tlmrii,  "Indians  Of  British  Cniana,"  i,p.  21(>;  Wallace,  ''Travi-ls  <m  thoAraa- 
/<>n,"  p.  L'.M,;  II.  II.  Smith,  "  Itra/.il."  New  York,  1X79,  ]>.  371. 

"  Lo  tour  (In  Moiulr."  Paris,  iv,  p.  !"». 

\Vilkrs.  '•  \arrati\  ••  <>f  the  T.  S.  Exploring  Expedition  during  the  years  1838-1842," 
I,  p.  r,L'. 


484 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


One  of  the  most  striking  resemblances  possible  in  culture  objects  in 
two  hemispheres  is  the  carrying  frame  from  the  Shingu  (fig.  183)  and 
from  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  almost  opposite  on  the  South  Atlantic  and 
not  very  far  away,  and  both  under  Portuguese  influence.  The  apparatus 
consists  of  a  circular  hoop  for  bottom,  with  coarse  lacing  of  fiber  and 
three  elongated  ellipses  of  the  same  style  for  the  sides  and  bottom.1  The 
African  specimen  is  carried  on  the  back  and  shoulders,  sustained  by  tbe 


Fig.  185.    , 

COOPERATIVE  CARRYING. 

Men  on  the  Shingu  launching  canoe. 

From  a  figure  in  von  <Ien  Steinen's  "  Unter  ,len  Nnturvolkern  /entra|.Br.i»iIieti»." 

staff,  while  the  Brazilian  specimen  has  had  to  submit  itself  to  the  local 
attachment  of  the  headband. 

Example  Xo.  152507  (fig.  184)  is  a  carrying  bag,  said  to  come  from 
Brazil.  By  examination  of  the  texture  it  will  be  seen  that  the  con- 
struction is  precisely  that  of  the  Mohave  carrying  crate,  of  many  exam 
pies  from  the  Central  American  States  and  of  the  Fuegian  carrying 

1  von  den  Steineu,  "  Uuter  deu  Naturvolkeru  Zentral-Brasihens,"  p.  237. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


485 


basket  minus  the  warp  or  foundation  rod.  Now.  all  such  ware  is  made 
on  a  spacer  or  gauge  of  different  sixes.  One  has  only  to  imagine  the 
gauge  left  in  the,  mesh  to  see  how  the.  Fuegian  and  the  other  varieties 
could  be  transformed  one  into  another. 

A  lively  scene  in  the  portage  or  t  ransportation  of  a  woodskin,  or  bark 
canoe  is  figured  by  von  den  Steineii.1  A  do/en  stout  men,  naked 
excepting  a  girdle,  are  merrily  bringing  the  canoe  on  their  shoulders 
and  in  their  hands.  The  picture  is  a  remarkable  one  tor  the  variety  of 
ways  in  which  the  men  are  at  work.  (Fig.  18T>.) 

CAKKYINC  APPLIANCKS  IN  TIIK  U.  8.  NATIONAL  MUSKCM. 

AFRICAN  TRIBES. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

MM 

Haversack  .       ..        ..          

Africa  

John  CiiHsin. 

4947 

Han.  irrass 

do  

National  Institute. 

4948 

do                     

do  

Do. 

4949 

Haversack,  leather  

do  

Do. 

4965 

do       ...            

do  

Do. 

5155 

do                                            

West  Africa    

i;  i;  (itirlev. 

151129 

racking  banket  (fig.  104)     

Angola  

r  •;  Kdii>-e  I:\IM  iiition 

151130  151131 

(Jold  coast     \tricii 

Stewart  Ciilin 

765'W  76537 

Wallet  t'nr  t'mit 

Africa  

15UM 

..     do  

Stewart  Culin 

151133" 

Wallet     

Wc^t  Africa  

Do 

151203 

do                                       

East  Africa  

W  L  Abbott 

151248 

do  

Do. 

141825 

Wallet 

..  do.... 

Do 

152612 

Curryin"  basket  1ialiinibo(flg.  105) 

do  

Carl  Steck  lemaii 

164874 

Carrying  basket  

Gaboon,  Africa  

Rev.  A.  C.  Good 

166135 

West  Africa  

lleli  Cliatelain 

166143 

do 

Do 

1G6146 

Csrrviii"  basket,  An«rola     

do  

Do 

IQ6H7 

Wallet  leather  Mandingo 

Africa  

L4MM 

Straps  carrying  

Bant  Africa 

Wasliington.D.  C. 
W  A  Chanler 

168911 

Hag.  traveling  

do  

Do 

167500 

..      do    

do 

W  H  Brown 

106222 

'  Banket,  carrying  

West  Africa  

169128 

Carrying  frame  (flg.  106)  

Kongo  . 

T  H  Camp 

EUROPEAN  PEASANTRY. 


131091 

Porter's  knot  and  cap  (flg.  110)  

London   England          .. 

Edward  Lovett 

131092 

Yoke  for  carrying  

....  ,lo  

D« 

13109:1 

Yoke  and  carrying  ropes  (tig.  108)  . 

do  

Do. 

1268110 

do  

167006 

Net  IM     i  '  iv  Carrying  eggH  

Madrid,  Spain  

Walter  Hough. 

167007 

Porter's  .strap  

do  

Do 

164803 

Yokes  for  carrying  water  

Venice  

H.  H  Giglioli. 

150833 

Carrying  baskets  

sen  in  Berlin. 

"Unter  den  Nnturvolkcrn  Zentral-Hrasilifiis,"  ii»-rliu,  I*!'!,  pi.  \,  opp.  p.  120. 


486 


REPORT    OP   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


CARRYING  APPLIANCES  IN  THE  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM— Continued. 
EUROPEAN  PEASANTRY— continued. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed, 

167787  167788 

Turkey          

R.  J.  Levy 

28155 

Open  wallet  (fig.  112)             ..  . 

167820 

Finland 

167821 

Knapsack  

do  

1)0. 

ASIATIC  AND   INDO-PACIFIC  PEOPLES. 


164745 

Carrying  basket  (fig.  118)  

Andaman  Islands  

Enrico  Giglioli. 

27189 

Siam 

King  of  Siam 

27613 

Carrying  baskets  (fig  115) 

do     ... 

Do. 

165410 

Alex.  R.  Webb 

4451 
3239-3251 

Basket,  provision  

Fiji  Islands  
do    

Captain  Magruder, 

U.  S.  N. 

4419 

Basket  haversack  

do  

TT.  S.  N. 
Do. 

4538 

Basket  haversack  

do  

Do. 

23978  23980 

.      do  

..do    

73386 
3397 

Carrying  net  (fig.  119)  
Haversack  

New  Guinea  

A.  P.  Goodwin. 
Lieutenant  Wilkes 

130770 

do  

do  

U.  S.  N. 
Lieut.    W.    E.    Safford 

3842 

do  

U.  S.  N. 
Lieutenant  Wilkes 

76560 

Wallet  Maori  seed 

U.  S.  N. 

3501-3504 

Baskets,  grass   

Sandwich  Islands  

Lieutenant  Wilkes 

151113 

Haversack,  banana  and  maiden- 

  do  

U.  S.  N. 
Mrs.  Sibyl  Carter. 

3538-3540 

hair  roots. 

do  

Lieutenant  Wilkes 

3776 

U.  S.  N. 
Do 

129760 

Haversack  

Easter  Island     

W.  J.  Thomson. 

1535 

Satchel  .          

54171-54174 
74506 

Basket,  market  (fig.  124)  
Carrying  pole  (fig.  123)    

China  
do  

Centennial  Commission 
Do. 

73093,  73094 
150684 

Basket,  hunter's  and  fisherman's  . 

Tate  Tama,  Japan  

P.  L.  Jouy. 

150768 

Headband  and  seat  (fig.  133)  

.....do  

Do. 

22254 

Headband  (fig.  126)  

do  

Do. 

28189 

Basket,  fish  

Japan  

Japanese  Commission. 

169034 

Chair,  lady's  carrying  

Korea  

Korean  Commission. 

153613 

Carrying-cloth,  with  cover  

do  

Ensign  J.  B.  Benintloii 

U.  S.  N. 

ESKIMO  AND  ALASKAN  INDIANS. 


44685 
43334 

Traveling  bag,  Man's,  Nerpa  skin. 
do  

Cape  Nome,  Alaska  

E.  W.  Nelson. 
Do 

:i«025 

Strap  for  back  load  

do  

Do. 

38074-38075 

Haversack,  grass... 

...do.. 

Do. 

PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


487 


CARKYIXC;  Arri.iAN<  KS  IN  TIIK  I'.  S.   NATIONAL  Mi  -KK.M — Continued. 

I.-KIMO  ASM)  ALASKAN  INDIANS—  <  . Mil  illtlcll. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

l.ocality. 

r>\    whom  rniitriliiiti-il. 

£40] 

li'ilmina  Ita\     Alaska. 

1.    \V    N.-lsi.n. 

37630 

lla\  i  rs:ick,  grass  

St.  Micha.-ls     Vhiska  

Do. 

43480 

Ba«r  hunting  

....   d»                       

Do. 

36184 
37640 
24684 

Satrhel.  n'sh.tkin  
Havwsark.  sealskin  

Kiislmimk,  Alaska  
Chalitniut.  Alaska  

Do. 

Do. 

1.   M   'riinu-r 

32901-32965 

Satchel,  straw  

do  

K.  \V.  N.-Uon. 

32971-112974 

1  'an,  traveling,  straw  

do  

Do. 

894 

R.  Kennicott 

-7." 

Yukon  River  Alaska 

W  H  Dall 

1  -.-:;•.• 

do  

E.  W.  Kelson. 

38304 

Wallet  liladder  

...    .do  

Do. 

38305 

do 

Do. 

38309 

Wallet  ,  tishskin  

..      .do  

Do. 

38316 

Bag  leather,  and  fishskin  

..   .  do 

Do. 

38465 

Wallet,  rash,  long  

do  

Do. 

38693 

Wallet,  bladder  

...  .do     

Do. 

38308 

Sack,  tislmkin  

Alaska  

Do. 

wtnt 

Sack  sealskin    

Anvik,  Alaska  

Do 

37871 

Bag  tishskiu  

Do 

37872 

Sack,  grass  

do  

Do. 

36185 

Satchel,  fishskin  

do  

Do. 

7580 

Bag  sealskin  

Cape  Roman/off,  Alaska 

W.  H.  Dall. 

7778 

do    

do 

Do. 

36183 

Satchel  fiahskin  

Kuskokwim,  Alaska.  .  .  . 

E.  W.  Nelson. 

67996 

Alaska 

J.  J.  McLean. 

16320 

Strajis  ]>ackiii"  

Niinivak  I.-laml,  Alaska. 

W.  H.  Dall. 

38466 

Kuskokwiin,  Vlaska 

E.  W.  Nelson". 

37401-37404 

Sack,  tishskin  

Nusbagag,  Alaska  

Do. 

127325-127326 

Togiakmut,   \laska. 

55946 

Bristol  Bay,  Alaska 

Charles  L  McKay. 

38843 

Sack,  straw,  large  

Nushagag,  Alaska- 

K  W   Nelson. 

'.'  ;"."•"• 

Wallet  of  fur        ...                 . 

Alaska 

Charles  L  McKay. 

72496-72497 

Pouch  bunting    

do  

William  J.  Fiaher 

72500-72502 

...  do  

do  

Do. 

38306 

Wallet  rush  

Big  Lake,  Alaska.  . 

E.  W.  Nelson. 

14976-14980 
36990  36992 

Wallet,  sea  grans,  ornamented  

Aleutian,  Attu  Island, 
Alaska. 
do  

W.  H.  Dall. 
L  M.  Turner. 

76346 

Wallet  

do  

T.  H.  Bean. 

168296 

Wallet,  grass  

.      do  

Lieut.  G.  T.  Eiumons. 

INDIANS    (IK    KA*TKK.\    XoKTH    AMEKICA. 


1979 

Wallet     

Arctic  coast  

B.  R.  Rosa. 

2041 

Bag                                          ...     . 

Mackenzie  River       

Do 

".".111  25.r>0 

\V    I     l!:irdt"*tv 

2608 

,|.i  

Do 

2020 

do     

I1.   K  Kosa 

2047 

do  

do  

Do. 

2609 

Satchel  birch  bark 

do  

\V    I,    II  Midi-sty. 

5112 

Pouch,  hunting  ... 

...do... 

Do. 

488 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1894. 


CARRYING  APPI.IANCKS  i\  THK  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSKUM — Continued. 

INDIANS  OF  EASTERN  NORTH  AMERICA— continued. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

542 
2048 

2551 
548 
527 
127140 
127141 
128079 
153505 
153508 
54404-54441 
1937-1939 

154320 
152963 
164821 
164823 
168408 
8553 
154035 
165840 

165918 

6910 
91508 

91509 
8430 

Haversack  (Yellow  Knife  Indians) 
Bag,  hunting  (Yellow  Knife  In- 
dians). 
Bag  hunting  

Fort  Resolution  

R.  Kennicott. 
B.  R.  Ross. 

Strachon  Jones. 
B.  R.  Ross. 
Do. 
Mrs.  Lilla  Pavy. 
Do. 
Do. 
Henry  G.  Bryant. 
Do. 
J.  Varden. 
Lieut.    G.    K.   Warren. 
U.  S.  A. 
Dr.  W.J.  Hoffman. 
Jas.  Mooney. 
Miss  E.  C.  Sickels. 
Do. 
F.  W.  Clarke. 
S.  M.  Horton. 
Mrs.  M.  M.  Hazen. 
H.  R  Voth. 

Do. 

Edward  Palmer. 
Do. 

Do. 
Dr.W.  Matthews,  U.S.  A. 

do  
FortRae         

Bag,  sealskin  (square)  

South  Greenland  

do    

Bag,  leather  (hand)  

Greenland  

Wallet  (Montagnais  Indians)  

do  

Wallet  porcupine  quill      

Canada 

Wallet,  large  leather,  ornamented 
(Sioux). 
Wallet  of  grass  and  bark  
Parfleche  case  (Kiowa  Indians)  .  .  . 

Upper  Missouri  River  .  . 

Leach  Lake,  Minn  
Indian  Territory  
Pine  Ridge  Agency  
do  

Bag,  traveling  

Satchel  

Haversack,  buffalo  skin  
Haversack  (Sioux  Indians)  

Nebraska  
Montana  

Parfleche  case,  small  (Cheyenne 
Indians). 
Parfleche    case,  clothing    (Chey- 
enne Indians)  (figs.  135,  136). 

do  

Basket,  carrying  (Choctaw)  (fig. 
138). 
Basket,  berries  (Choctaw  Indians)  . 
Carrying  basket  (fig.  137)   .  .  . 

Alabama  

do    

WEST  COAST  INDIANS. 


1682"93 

Wallet  beaded  

Alaska  

21560 

Basket,  large,  Kolnschau  Indians. 

.....do  

60227-60228 

11410 

do  

168163 

Wallet  spruce  root  (fig  140) 

do 

60330 

20808 

Pouch,  hunting,  beaded  

Prince    Wales    Island 

20811 

Pouch,  hunting,  small  

A  laska. 
do  

4123 

do  

North  west  Coast,  Amer- 

648 

Basket,  carrying  

ica. 
do  

685 

do  

do  

2552-2553 

Pouch,  hunting  

do    

23477-23478 

Baskets  Towanahoo  Indians  

Hoods  Canal  

168283 

Wallet  

Alaska  

168294 

Wallet,  cut... 

...do.. 

Lieut.    G.   T.   Emmons. 

U.  S.  N. 

Dr.  J.  B.  White. 
J.  J.  McLean. 
V.  Colyer. 
Herbert  Odgen. 
J.  J.  McLean. 
J.  G.  Swan. 

Do. 
Do. 

George  Gibbs. 

Do. 
Lieutenant   Wilkes, 

U.  S.  N. 
J.  G.  Swan. 
Lieut.  G.  T.  Emraons. 

Do. 


PRIMITIVE   TRAVEL    AND   TRANSPORTATION. 
CAUKYI.NC;  APPLIANCES  IN  THE  U.  8.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM — Continued. 

WBST  COAST  INDIANS — continued. 


4S9 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

2127 

Wallet,  waterproof  

North  west  Coaat  Amer- 

1. i  fii  1  1-  nan  i     Wilkes 

153  550 

Wallet     

ica. 

U.  8.  N. 

1289 

Wallet,  sea  grans  

J  4i  Swan 

23360 

Wallet,  bark-  wo  yen  

N.-.ih  Bay,  Washington 

Do. 

76634 

Wallet,  cedar-bark  

Washington 

Do. 

151452 

do  

do 

Dr  Fran/  Boas 

127843 

Carryinu  wallet  (tig.  144)  

Quiniault,  Wash.. 

Cbarlea  Willoiighby 

165137 
166541 

Valiae  of  rawhide  
Case  (partiet'ho)  

Wyoming  
Washington  

Jas.  Mooing. 
Dr.  E.  L.  Morgan. 

1292 

Straps,  for  carrying  load  

do  

J.  G.  Swan 

130976 

do  

do  

E.  C.  Chirouse.              ' 

23479-23480 

Basket,  carry  ing  (Clallam  Indiana) 

do  

J.  G.  Swan. 

19026 

Carrying  basket  (tig.  145) 

do  .  . 

Do. 

1778 

Satchel,  strips  of  bark  

(  'oliiinbia  River.  . 

Dr.  Suckeley,  II.  S.  A. 

24104 

Basket   for  carrying  roots  (Kla- 

Oregon  .  

L.  S.  Dyar. 

24116 

inatli  Indians). 
Satchel,   made  of  tuli  (Klamatb 

do  

Do. 

24122 

Indiana). 
Sack,  carrying  grain  

do  

Do. 

18897 

Net,  agave  fiber  (tig  151)     

California  

Fxlward  Palmer. 

19706 

Net,  carrying    

do  

Stephen  Powers. 

19472 

Basket  cactus  fruit     

do  

Edward  Palmer. 

19743-19744 

Basket  fruit  (fig  163) 

do 

Do. 

19745 

Basket  acorns     .'  

do  

Do. 

19769 

Bag,  fruit,  etc  

do  

Do. 

19770 

Bag,  cones  of  pines  

do  

Do. 

24165 

Basket,  carrying  

do  

Do. 

131139 

Carrying  net  (fig.  152)   Missions.. 

do  

Do. 

131148 

Basket  and  strap,  carrying  (Hupa 

do  

Jeremiah  Cnrtin. 

131161 

Indians)  . 

do  

Do. 

126907 
167410 

Headband  (fig.  147),  Hupa  Indians. 

do  
do  

Lieut.  P.  H.Ray,  U.  S.  A. 
H.  W.  Henshaw. 

165687 

Basket,  carrying  (Pima  Indians) 

do  

F.  W.  Hodge. 

126680 

do  

Edward  Palmer. 

174523 

Indians. 
Basket   carrying  (Papagos)  

Arizona  

W  J  McGee. 

10351 

Bas  ket  for  seed  

Fort  Mohave,  Colorado.  . 

.Edward  I'aliner. 

168412 

Satchel  beaded  

Colorado  

F.  W.  Clarke. 

152528 

Pouch  hunting  

Lewis  Engel. 

70929-70937 

Basket  carrying  (fig.  155),  Moki 

Arizona  

128913 

do  

do    

Mrs.  T.  E.  Stevenson. 

166707 

Basket  carrying  (/ufii  Indians)  . 

New  Mexico  

68465-68475 

do 

do 

68544-68550 

...  do  ..          .  . 

do  

Do. 

68701-68714 

(Jourd,  for  carrying  water  (Moki 

do  

Do. 

71020 

Indians). 
Basket,  water-tight  (Moki  Indians) 

do  

Do. 

MM 

Strap  carrying  with  hair  ropes.. 

do  

V.  Mindelelf. 

9540 
68633 

Rope,  woolen,  for  carrying  wood 
(Zuni  Indians). 
Carrying  bands  (Xuiii  Indiana)... 

do  
...do... 

Edward  Palmer. 
Col.  Jas.  Stevenson. 

490 


REPORT   OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


CARRYING  APPLIANCES  IN  THE  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM— Continued. 

WEST  COAST   INDIANS— continued. 


Museum 
number. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

68655-68656 

Shoulder  pad  (Zufii  Indians)  

Maj  J  W  Powell 

27827 

Net  basket,  prop  stick  headband 

1804 

do 

1514 

Indians). 
do  

Mexico    

U.  S.  A. 

73934 

Head  strap  (Yucatan  )  

do  

L.  H  Aym6 

73974 

Packing  rope  

do  

Do 

24145 

Basket,  carrying  (fig.  164),  Mohave. 

California  

Edward  Palmer 

9981 

Do 

12064 

Haversack  (  Pai  TJtea)  

Southern  Utah  

Maj.  J  W  Powell 

14382 

do  

do     

Do 

14397 

Haversack,  beaded  with  strap  .  . 

do 

Do 

14493 

-     do 

Do 

14664-14675 

Baskets,  for  fruit  and  seeds  

do  

Do. 

17196 

Haversack,  rawhide  (Utelndians) 

do  

Do. 

42155 

Carrying  basket  (fig  150),  TJtes  

Utah  

Do. 

19026 
134422  134429 

Basket,  large,  conical,for  seeds,  etc 
Baskets,  gathering  fruit  

Pyramid  Lake,  Nevada  . 
New  Mexico  

Stephen  Powers. 

84139-84143 

Gourds,  for  carrying  drv  articles 

.   .    do             

V.  Mindeleti" 

5564 

(Moki  Indians). 
Basket,   gathering    (Apache   In- 

Arizona    

Edward  Palmer. 

152711 

dians). 
Haversack  (hide)  

Do. 

126680 

Basket  and  rest  stick  ;  also  head 

do  

Do. 

126591,  126592 

band. 
Carrying  yoke  and  jars  (fig.  174) 

..  do    ...      

Do 

77006 

J  E  Benedict 

73955 

Bag,  packing,  large  

Mexico  

73956 

Bag,  packing,  small  

...    do  

Do 

129652 

129654 

Carrying  net  (fig.  175)  

do  

Do. 

152507 

Carrying  net  (fig.  184)  

Mrs.  F.  G.  Fry. 

126805 
1864 

Carrying  frame  (fig.  176)  
Wallet  (Comanche  Indians)  

Honduras  
New  Mexico  

A.  E.  Morlan. 
Lieutenant  Couch,  U.S.  A 

7926 
7927 

Wallet,  mat  
Wallet,  mat  (double) 

Mexico  

.  do      .          ... 

Dr.  Sartorius. 
Do. 

76918-76919 

Wallet,  basket  (palm)  

do  

New  Orleans  Exposition. 

43121 

Wallet,  grass  (double)  

United  States  Colombia 

Thomas  Moran. 

131222 

Carrying  basket  (fig.  181)  

Straits  of  Magellan 

THE  CARRYING  OF  CHILDREN. 

Next  to  getting  about  and  carrying  things  comes  the  activity  of  car- 
rying persons,  or  passenger  traffic,  and  this  commences  with  the  trans- 
portation of  helpless  children. 

Invention  has  had  in  this  art  an  opportunity  of  elaboration  along  the 
lines  of  geographic  conditions  in  obedience  to  the  commands  of  ethnic 
peculiarities,  but  the  most  primitive  method  resorts  to  no  machinery 
whatever.  (Fig.  186.) 

The  traffic  of  the  world  in  the  present  day  is  always  numbered  in 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION. 


491 


millions,  whether  of  persons,  of  miles,  of  tons  of  freight  carried  or  coal 
consumed,  or  of  dollars  invested.  It  began  with  naked  mothers  carry- 
ing naked  children,  without  the  expenditure  of  one  dollar.  To  study 
this  art  from  its  simple  to  its  complex  forms  one  must  commence  with 
tropical  peoples  who  have  never  been  elsewhere.  Here  the  infant  is 
transported  upon  the  person  of  the  mother,  both  of  them  clinging  one 
to  the  other  by  a  semiautomatic  habit  or  instinct.  In  this  paper  little 
attention  will  be  paid  to  the  bed  and  wrappings  of  infants.  That  sub 
ject  has  already  been  discussed.1 

African  mothers,  on  the  testimony  of  the  TJ.  S.  National  Museum,  have 
never  invented  a  single  device  for  their  tiny  passengers,  who  are 
usually  gathered  into  t  he  foldsof  the  sash 
or  shawl  or  mantle.  Doubtless  this  gar- 
ment is  worn  frequently  to  give  the 
child  a  resting  place,  and  netting  tied 
about  the  neck  furnishes  support  to  the 
nestling;  but  it  is  practically  true  that 
the  spirit  of  invention  in  Africa  has  not 
been  awakened  by  the  necessity  of  carry- 
ing infants. 

Schurtx  figures  a  Masakara  negro 
woman  in  the  interior  of  Africa,  grind- 
ing grain  on  the  metate,  with  a  muller. 
at  the  same  time  bearing  an  infant  in 
the  folds  of  the  shawl  upon  her  back.2 
And  the  union  of  the  manufacturer  with 
the  carrier  is  one  of  the  commonest  oc- 
currences there. 

Katzel  gives  an  interesting  picture, 
after  Falkeustein,  of  a  Loango  mother, 
barefooted,  wearing  a  head  handkerchief, 
hoeing  in  the  field,  and  carrying  a  sleep- 
ing infant  on  her  back,  securely  held  in 
place  by  a  cloth  or  shawl,  tied  around 
her  body  under  the  arms  and  above  the  breasts,  and  reaching  to  her 
ankles.3 

Holub,  in  his  illustrated  catalogue  of  the  South  African  Exposition 
in  Prague,  pictures  a  Bechuana  woman  engaged  in  the  same  double 
exercise,  and  illustrated  books  and  journals  describing  the  west  coast 
of  Africa  show  the  usual  position  of  the  African  babe  ridiiig  astride 

1  E.  Pokrowski,  TnuiH.  Soc.  Friends  of  Nat.  Sci.,  Moscow  ;  Mason,  "  Cradles  of  the 
American  Aborigines,"  Rep.  Smithsonian  Inst.  (U.  S.  Xat.  Mns.),  1887,  pp.  164-212; 
J.  H.  Porter,  "  Notes  on  the  Artificial  Deformation  of  Children  among  Savage  and 
Civilized  Peoples, "ibid.,  pp. 213-235;  H.  Ploss,  "  Das  Kind  in  Branch  und  Sitte  der 
Volker,"  Leipzig,  1884,  2  vols. 

9  "  Katechismus  der  Volkerkunde,"  Leipzig,  1893,  p.  180. 

3"  Volkerkunde,"  Leipzig,  1887,  I,  p.  155. 


FIJ;.  186. 

WOMAN  OK  BKITTAXY  CARRYINO  <  Hll.t). 
From  sketch  by  \V.  K.  Ch.in.JI~. 


492 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


the  mother's  hips  and  enfolded  in  the  loose  garment.     (Fig.  187.) 
many  places  the  attachment  to  her  body  is  reduced  to  a  mere  string. 

The  Zulu  mother  carries  her  babe  in  a  shawl,  or  wide  sash,  which 
passes  around  her  body  above  her  breasts,  close  under  her  arms,  and 
reaching  quite  down  to  her  hips.1  The  child  sits  in  the  shawl  as  in  a 
swing,  which  passes  about  the  loins  above  the  center  of  gravity. 

The  Hottentot  women  generally  wear  the  krass — a  square  piece  of 
the  skin  of  a  wild  beast,  generally  a  wildcat,  tied  on  with  the  hairy  side 
outward — around  their  shoulders,  which,  like  those  of  the  men,  cover 
their  backs  and  sometimes  reach  down  to  their  hams.  Between  two 
krasses  they  fasten  a  suckling  child,  if  they  have  one,  with  the  head 

just  peeping  over  their  shoulders.  The 
under  krass  prevents  their  bodies  being 
hurt  by  the  children  at  their  back.2 

Ratzel  figures  Abyssinian  women  in  the 
double  function  of  carrying  children  and 
carrying  freight.  In  the  former,  the  tiny 
passenger  rests  in  the  folds  of  the  dress 
on  the  back.  In  the  latter,  the  load  is 
borne  on  the  back  and  sustained  by  ropes, 
knapsack  wise.3 

In  European  countries  for  the  most  part, 
the  child  has  been  consigned  to  a  wheel 
carriage  of  some  kind.  The  simplest  form 
of  this  is  the  Baschkir  Kuin£,  which  is 
merely  one  form  of  California  cradle  (fig. 
188),  with  wheels  on  the  hindmost  cross 
bar,  and  a  hood  of  birch  bark  instead  of 
reed  mat.4 

A  forked  stick  is  the  frame  of  the  cra- 
dle  and  hounds  of  the   axle.     On   this 
rests  an  oblong  cylinder  of  birch  bark, 
ovoid  in  horizontal  outline,  and  having  a 
lattice  bottom.    The  hood  is  of  birch  bark, 
and  not  unlike  that  of  a  common  wagon. 
A  differentiation  has  also  taken  place  among  cradle  frames,  one  form 
dropping  the  suspension  strings,  by  means  of  which  it  became  now  a  bed 
to  be  swung,  now  a  vehicle  to  be  carried,  assumes  the  rockers  or  wheels 
and  is  no  longer  lifted  from  the  ground;   the  other  remains  in  the 
condition  wherein  it  may  be  now  a  swinging  bed,  now  a  carrying  frame. 
The  carrying  of  children  on  the  person  has  been  affected  in  European 

'Ratzel,  "Volkerknnde,"  Leipzig,  1887, 1,  p.  150. 
2Kolben,  "Voyage  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,"  iv,  p.  14. 
3"V61kerkunde,"  in,  p.  229. 

«Cf.  Pokrowaki,  Rev.  d'Ethnog.,  1889,  fig.  27,  p.  34,  with  Rep.  Sraithsoniau  Inst. 
(11.  S.  Nat.  Mus.),  1887,  p.  180,  fig.  12. 


Fig.  187. 

AFRICAN  METHOD  OF  CARRYING   CHILD. 
From  a  photograph  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


493 


countries  by  this  differentiation.  Wherever  the  old-time  carrying 
frame  and  swing  becomes  a  rocking  cradle  or  a  wagon,  the  process  of 
carrying  the  child  reverts  to  the  most  primitive  type,  chiefly  on  one 
arm,  after  the  manner  of  the  African  mother. 

The  commonest  sight  and  often  a  painful  si^ht  in  tin-  poorer  settle- 
ments of  any  modern  city  is  that  of  a  girl,  often  quite  young,  lugging 
an  infant  on  the  left  arm,  distorting  her  body  hopelessly. 

Likewise  may  be  seen  among  the  folk  in  sport  or  in  serious  humor 
and  in  the  pastimes  of  children  survivals  of  past  practices  in  the  car 
riage  of  infants.  In  art,  as  has  been 
previously  stated,  the  drudgeries  of 
life  are  glorified.  If  the  caryatid  and 
atlas  are  the  a-sthetieising  and  apo 
theosis  of  burden  bearing  on  liesid  and 
back,  the  many  renditions  of  the  Ma- 
donna exalt  in  art  and  religion  the 
transportation  of  the  human  infant  on 
the  left  arm.1 

Hercules  was  cradled  in  his  father's 
shield:  Dionysius  in  a  winnowing  fan, 
which  has  the  same  shape.  The 
(1  reeks  do  not  seem  to  have  carried 
children  in  cradles,  but  the  Romans 
had  gotten  so  far,  although  the  figures 
resemble  the  Sioux  shoe-shaped  device 
without  the  wooden  support.* 

The  Semite  mother  who  carries  her 
child  about  her  neck  puts  it  astride 
one  shoulder,  shifting  it  to  the  other 
as  occasion  demands  (fig.  18J>).  No 
device  or  invention  is  used,  but  a  semi- 
automatic habit,  a  kind  of  instinct  for 
clinging  to  each  other,  kee]  is  the  young 
passenger  in  position.  This  should 
be  compared  with  the  position  of  the 
child  among  other  peoples. 

In  Egypt  the  young  children  of  both  sexes  are  usually  carried  by 
their  mothers  and  nurses,  not  in  the  arms,  but  on  the  shoulder,  seated 
astride  as  in  fig.  190  (see  Isaiah,  XLIX,  U-).  and  sometimes, for  a  short 
distance,  on  the  hip.3  The  Nestorian  woman  bears  her  child  in  a  bundle 
on  her  back. 

In  the  Indo- Pacific  area  there  is  little  change,  only  local  modifications 


1  1 4.  188.  N 

CHAIII.K  «>K   Ht'SHK-S,    WITH     HANDLE,    T8KD    BY 
K  LA  MATH  INDIANS  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


'(.'f.  "Woman's  Share  in  Primitive  Culture, "N«-\v  York.  IS'Jl.  p.  186,  fig.50.    Woman 
of  I  in  I  i. -i  carrying  burdeii  and  child. 

"Smith,  Dictionary  of  (Jn-rk  and   Unman   Aiiti<|iiiti»>H,  n.  v.,  <'nna,. 
3Lane,  "Modern  Egyptians,"  London,  isiii,  i.  p.  7«J. 


494 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


in  the  primitive  method  of  having  as  little  machinery  as  possible 
involved  in  the  transportation  of  the  infant.  Of  course  none  of  these 
peoples  have  ever  so  much  as  thought  of  differentiating  the  carriage 
device  from  the  sleeping  device. 

The  siwela,  or  cradle  of  Timor,  is  a  flattish  basket  made  of  woven 
rattan  ropes,  suspended  so  as  to  rock  over  a  fire  placed  beneath,  with 
only  the  spathe  of  a  palm  under  the  child's  back,  its  head  generally  lying 
on  rough  rattan,  and  Avith  a  small  piece  of  rag  thrown  over  its  stomach. 
The  fire  below  the  cradle,  which  not  unfrequently  sets  fire  to  it,  is 
partly  to  keep  off  the  mosquitoes  and  partly  to  keep  the  child  warm 

during  the  night.     The  smoke  is  often  so 
great  as  almost  to  suffocate  the  infant.1 

Turner  saysthat  the  Sarnoan  mothers  carry 
their  children  not  on  the  arm  but  astride  the 
hip.  He  pronounces  it  much  safer  than  on 
the  back  and  less  tiresome  to  the  nurse,  audit 
gives  the  child  a  lest  constrained  posture. 

The  New  Guinea  baby  may  be  said  for  some 
time  to  practically  live  in  a  net;  it  is  carried 
in  one  suspended  to  the  mother's  neck,  dang- 
ling low  down  in  front  of  the  woman ;  it  sleeps 
in  a  net  bag,  and  when  it  awakes  and  cries 
and  can  not  change  its  position  in  the  bag, 
which  is  probably  suspended  from  the  roof  of 
the  veranda,  it  presents  a  most  comical  ap- 
pearance.2 

The  Australians  of  Carpentaria  Gulf  carry 
the  young  children  under  the  arm,  in  a 
trough  of  ti  bark,  with  a  string  under  the 
center  and  over  the  shoulder,  the  arm  press- 
ing it  on  the  outer  side  to  keep  it  close. 
When  a  little  grown,  the  child  is  carried 
across  the  hip,  supported  with  one  arm,  and 
afterwards  across  the  neck,  holding  itself  on 
by  the  mother's  hair. 
In  South  Australia,  between  30  and  40  degrees  south,  the  women  carry 
their  children  on  the  back  in  the  folds  of  the  great  robe,  at  the  same 
time  also  having  a  satchel  hung  over  the  left  shoulder  and  under  the 
right  arm,  and  paeles  or  rolls  on  the  small  of  the  back,  with  line  across 
the  breast  and  shoulders. 

When  a  Darling  River  mother  is  about  to  carry  her  child  she  leans 
her  body  forward,  and  taking  hold  of  the  child  by  its  arms  swings  it 
over  her  left  shoulder  and  places  it  between  her  shoulder  blades  with  its 


Fig.  189. 
WOMAN     OF     PALESTINE     CARRYING 

CHILD. 
From  a  sketch  in  the  Christian  Herald. 


1  H.  O.  Forl>es.  " Ktlmolojjy  of  Timor-l.aiit,''  Joiirn.  Anthrop.  lust.,  London,  1884, 
XIII.  p.  12. 

2  Jouru.  Anthrop.  lust.,  London,  1892,  xxi,  p.  203. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


495 


hands  around  her  neck.  She  then  throws  a  I'm-  rug  around  herself  and 
the  child,  and  afterwards  a  netted  bag  (numyuncka  is  drawn  tight 
under  the  seat  of  the  child  with  one  end  brought  over  each  shoulder  of 
the  mother  and  tied  together  under  her  chin  to  keep  the  child  and  rug 
in  their  position;  so  a  pouch  is  formed  to  hold  the  infant  while  it  is  being 
carried  about.  The  men  generally  carry  children  on  their  shoulders,  as 
do  the  Eskimo  men.1 

In  a  photograph  taken  by  Roinyn   Hitchcock  at  Osaka,  Japan,  a 
woman  is  represented  as  carrying  a  .".-year  old  child  pickaback  (ttg.  1!U). 

The  very  same  method  of  carrying  is   practiced   by   both   men  and 
women  among  the  Eskimo  of  Port  Clarence,  Alaska. 

The  child's  bed  and  carriage  in  one  piece  exists  in  Uussia.  in  all  the 
countries  under  her  sway,  and  in  the 
lands  along  the  southern  border  of  these. 
It  had  a  wide  development  in  America. 
This  combination  carriage  and  bed  ex- 
ists in  two  forms — that  in  which  tin- 
whole  body  of  the  child  is  bandaged. 
legs  and  all,  and  that  in  which  the  body 
is  swaddled  and  the  legs  are  partly  free. 
These  two  have  relation  to  climate  and 
pedagogic  notions  and  superstitions; 
but  they  have  profound  relations  also 
to  the  nomadic  and  hunting  life  of  the 
people. 

Pokrowski  traces  the  rigid  cradle 
wherein  the  child  is  laid  upon  its  back 
and  strapped  therein  so  as  often  to  pro- 
duce deformation  among  thedeorgians, 
Nogais,  Sartes,  Kirghi/,  Kalmuck,  Ya- 
kut, Buriat,  Ostiak,  and  Samoyed.2 
He  says  that  it  is  the  most  ancient  and 
widely  spread.  In  central  llussia  it  is 
formed  of  four  planks  about  a  linger 
and  a  half  high,  in  shape  of  a  box,  1  meter  long  and  so  centimeters 
wide,  on  which  is  fixed  a  cloth  bottom,  and  from  the  corners  are  ropes 
which  unite  in  a  ring  above  for  suspension.  In  fact,  it  is  a  wooden 
hammock  that  has  lost  its  carrying  function.  I5ut  Pokrowski  ath'rms 
that  these  cradles  often  preserve  the  ancient  form  that  they  may  be  car- 
ried about  as  well  as  hung  up  in  the  house.  They  are  both  carriage  and 
swinging  cradle  in  one.  The  cords  from  the  two  borders  of  the  cradle 
cross  over  the  woman's  In-east  as  in  the  bandolier1  dig.  1!>'J). 

'F.  lionuey,  "Customs  of  tho  Aborigines  of  (he  K'ivn   I  >.:rlinu.  \«'\\   s.mtli  \V.H 
Jourii.  Authrop.  lust.,  London,  ixxl.  \m,  p.  iL'ti. 

«M<<m.  Snr.  (1.  Amis  <1.  So.  Nut.,  IXXIi.      S<-«-  also  Kov.  d'Antlirop.,  l.vs..  p.  ::iil  :  1K87, 
p.  238. 

3 Rev.  d'Ethnog.,  Paris,  1889,  p.  10. 


Fig.  190. 

M.M'TIAX    WOMAN   CAKRYINO   <-HIM>. 

Kri.ni  n  photograph  in  tl,.  Mi, -.-.,,, 


496 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 


The  cradle  of  the  Lapps  is  a  very  ingenious  structure,  admirably 
suited  for  its  purpose  under  the  ordinary  circumstances  of  Lapp 
existence.  "These  cradles,"  Friis  tells  us,  "are  hollowed  out  of  a 
log,  and  have  a  hood  which  protects  the  child's  head.  From  this 
hood  down  to  the  end  a  light  network  of  thongs  or  cord  is  stretched 
over  the  child,  and  over  this  net  a  handkerchief  or  other  covering 
can  be  spread  in  such  a  manner  that  the  child  can  be  in  complete 
shelter  without  hindrance.  A  strong  strap  is  fastened  from  one  end 

of  the  cradle  to  the  other,  by  means  of 
which  it  can  be  slung  on  the  back  or  set 
to  swing  from  the  branch  of  a  tree  (tig. 
193).  It  may  be  thrown  on  the  ground 
and  rolled  about  without  injury  to  the 
child,  and  it  will,  moreover,  keep  out  cold 
of  20°  below  zero." [ 

Pokrowski  says  that  the  Lapp  cradle  is 
in  form  of  a  boat,  the  body  being  a  "  dug- 
out" with  very  thin  walls,  making  the 
apparatus  very  light  and  easy  to  carry. 
Outside  is  stretched  a  covering  of  rein- 
deer leather,  very  thin.  Moss  is  used  for 
the  bed,  and  over  it  is  spread  the  fur  of  the 
•young  reindeer.  Rawhide  lines,  stretched 
from  the  hood  to  the  foot,  sustain  the  cur- 
tain of  leather  hung  over  all.  A  strap  at- 
tached to  the  foot  and  the  front  serves  for 
•suspension,  and  enables  the  mother  to  sup- 
port the  child  in  front  or  on  her  back,  or 
on  one  hip,  the  strap  resting  on  the  oppo- 
site shoulder. 

The  Ostiak  have  two  kinds  of 
cradles,  those  for  the  new  born 
and  another  kind  for  more  ad- 
vanced children.  The  former  are 
trays  of  birch  bark,  oblong,  shal- 
low, high  at  the  head,  rolled  over 
about  the  margin  and  decorated 
with  great  taste.  The  cradle  is 

provided  with  cords,  by  means  of  which  it  may  hang  in  front  of  the 
mother  (fig.  194). 

The  cradle  for  the  more  advanced  infant  is  deeper,  and  provides 
for  seating  it  more  erect.  This  is  carried  on  the  back  of  the  mother 
(fig.  195). 

The  children  of  the  Giliak,  as  among  the  Goldi,  are  strapped  <lown 
on  a  kind  of  board  serving  as  a  cradle,  and  hung  up  in  that  position  to 


Pig.  191. 

JAPANESE  WOMAN  CARRYING  CHILL). 
From  a  photograph  by  Hon.yn  Hitchcock. 


1  Journ.  Anthrop.  Inst.,  Loiidou,  1885,  xv,  p.  228. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


497 


a  rafter  of  the  hut.1     Schrenek  should  also  be  consulted  about  the  (iiliak 
cradle  and  method  of  carrying  the  infant.2 

Bush  says  of  the  (iiliak  cradle  that  near  one  end  of  the  shed  was  a 
babe  tightly  bandaged  in  a  wooden  box  or  cradle,  somewhat  like  those 
used  by  our  American  Indians,  but  with  its  little  legs  from  the  knees 
downward  unfettered.  This  cradle  was  suspended  tVom  the  ridge  jnile 
in  an  upright  position,  by  four  leather  thongs  that  were  just  long  enough 


Fiji.  192. 

WOMAN  OP  LITTLE  RUSSIA  CARRYING  CHILD. 
from  a  fifure  in  the  Rente  d'Elhnofnphie. 


to  enable  the  little  one  to  reach  the  ground  with  its  tret,  by  which  it 
swung  itself  back  and  forth  without  assistance.3 
Of  the  Samoyed  cradle  Jackson  says: 

It  was  amusing  t<>  see  the  l>:ihy,  wliich  had  been  sitting  np  and  had  eaten  a  fairly 
good  supper  of  raw  meat,  put  to  bed  by  it-  mother.  She  lirst  wrapped  it  in  furs,  then 
placed  it  iu  a  liox  .shaped  like  a  coffin,  and  laced  it  with  narrow  strips  of  hide.  RO 


1  Kavenstein,  "Russians  ou  the  Amur,"  London,  1861,  p.  391. 
'•' "  Reisen  und  Forschuugen  im  Amur-Lande,"  pi.  xii. 
3  Bash,  "  Reindeer,  Dogs,  :ind  Suowshoes,"  p.  123. 
11.  Mis.  90,  i»t.  L' 32 


498 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


that  it  was  not  ouly  impossible  for  it  to  fall  out,  but  also  very  difficult  for  it  to 
move.1 

Infants  are  kept  among  the  Manguii  and  Orochou  in  an  oblong  box; 
while  the  Goldi  strap  them  down  in  a  basin-shaped  cradle,  ornamented 
with  small  coins,  and  suspended  by  means  of  an  iron  hoop  to  a  rafter  in 
the  house.2 

The  Yakut  cradle,  according  to  Lansdell,  resembles  a  coal  scuttle. 


Fifr.  193. 

LAPP  ORADLK. 
e  in  the  Revue  ii'F.lhn<jgr..phh 


When  traveling  they  suspend  it  at  the  side  of  the  reindeer  as  the  Sioux 
women  hang  their  cradles  from  the  pommel  of  the  pony  saddle.3 

On  the  northwestern  border  of  the  Okhotsk  Sea  dwell  the  Ttin^us 
and  the  Lamut.  They,  owing  to  the  rugged  condition  of  their  country, 
saddle  the  reindeer  and  use  it  both  for  riding  and  packing  instead  of 


1  F.  G.  Jackson,  "The  Great  Frozen  Land/'  London,  1895,  p.  108. 
'•* Ravenstein,  "Russians  on  the  Amur,"  London,  1861,  p.  3X6. 
3  Lttnsdell,  "Through  Siberia,"  Boston,  1882,  p.  303. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  499 

draft  to  the  sledge.  The  infant  is  neatly  stowed  in  a  cradle  lined  with 
reindeer  fur  (fig.  196).  This  cradle  shuts  up,  and  ventilation  is  provided 
through  ;i  valve  of  leather  which  the  mother  controls.  This  device  may 
also  be  suspended  from  the  human  body  The  Tungus,  says  Bush, 
have  a  novel  way  of  carrying  children  on  reindeer  back.  Two  of  them 
are  lashed  together  and  thrown  over  the  pack  saddle  like  two  packages. 
Each  is  sewed  up  in  a  single  garment,  jacket,  pants,  boots,  mittens, 
and  cap  all  in  one  piece,  made  of  heavy  reindeer  fur,  with  no  part  of 
them  visible  but  the  small,  shining  black  eyes  and  little  red  noses 


Fig.  r.H. 
OSTIAK  CRADLE. 

From  a  liiure  in  the  llevnp  il'Ethno(rmphi«. 


peering  over  the  fur.    Perchance  a  baby  may  be  balanced  by  a  kettle, 
etc.    The  youngsters  do  not  seem  to  mind  the  cold.1 
Says  N.  Width : 

I  remember  from  my  boyhood  that  the  women  carried  their  infante  in  a  box  on 
the  back,  tin-  1»<»\  \vcll  provided  with  reindeer  skin.  These  boxes  were  fastened  on 
poles,  and  when  the  women  entered  a  store  in  the  town  for  shopping  the  poles  wore 
stuck  iu  the  snow  and  the  babies  left  there  for  hours. - 

In  Sheldon  Jackson's  report  on  the  introduction  of  tame  reindeer 
into  Alaska  there  is  a  native  drawing  of  a  cradle  or  bed  for  an  infant, 
swung  from  the  ceiling  by  four  cords.  This  should  be  compared  with 


1  Bush,  "Reindeer,  Dogs,  and  Snowahoes."  New  York,  1ST  I.  p.  U40. 
8 Senate  Ex.  Doc.  No.  7)5,  Fifty-third  Congress,  second  session,  p.  150. 


500 


REPORT    OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


the  Cape  Breton  and  the  Seminole  cradle,  and  a  photograph  by  Boas 
of  the  Kwakiutl.1     The  same  author  gives  a  plate  showing  a  crowd  of 

Chukchi;  in  several  of  the  figures  the  chil- 
dren are  borne  pickaback,  as  among  the 
western  Eskimo. 

The  author  has  not  been  able  to  find  the 
cradle  board  or  frame  among  the  Eskimo. 
So  far  as  he  is  informed  this  device  does 
not  exist  in  Mexico  or  anywhere  in  the 
tropics.  If  the  collection  of  the  U.  S. 
National  Museum  be  complete  (and  he  is 
sure  it  is  not)  the  cradle  does  not  exist  in 
either  of  these  areas.  A  few  general  state- 
ments may  be  predicated  upon  the  scanty 
material  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  col- 
lection. 

The  American  aboriginal  cradle  is  in- 
fluenced by  climate.  It  can  not  exist  in 
extremes  of  heat  or  cold.  In  one  case  the 
child  would  be  smothered,  in  the  other  it 
would  be  frozen. 

Again,  whatever  may  be  the  material, 
whether  birch  bark,  rawhide,  a  flat  board,  a 
dugout,  a  frame  of  rods,  the  infant's  head  is 
never  placed  in  contact  with  it.  There  is  always  between  the  head  and 
this  hard  frame  or  board  a  pillow  ot  fur.  hair,  shredded  bark,  down,  or 


Fig.  195. 

O8TIAK    WOMAN    CARRYING    CHILD. 

From  a  figure  in  the  Kevue  d'Ethnographie. 


Fig.  196. 

TUNGOS  AND  LAMUT  FOLDING  CEADLE. 
From  H  figure  in  the  Revue  d'Kthnogmpliie. 


some  other  substance.     It  is  idle,  therefore,  to  collect  cradles  in  order 
to  study  intentional  and  undesigned  head  flattening  unless  we  secim- 


Ex.'Doc.  No.  70,  Fifty-third  Cougress,  secoud  session,  j>.  101. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND   TRANSPORTATION. 


501 


also  the  pillow.  One  cradle,  from  the  Yunias.  lias  two  little  pads  about 
4  inches  apart  to  catch  the  head  of  the  infant;  another  has  a  regular 
pillow,  and  so  on. 

Finally,  all  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  cradles  are  made  to  stand 
up  or  to  hang  up.  A  great  many  persons  who  are  familiar  with  tin- 
subject  have  been  questioned,  and  it  seems  to  be  true  that  Indian 
cradles  are  very  seldom  laid  flat  on  the  ground.  In  that  case  the  head 
is  perfectly  free,  and  after  the  child  is  a  few  weeks  old,  excepting  dur- 
ing sleep,  the  head  does  not  touch  the  pillow  at  all. 

As  explained  elsewhere,  the  exigencies  of  climate  prevent  the  Eskimo 
from  carrying  their  children  in  open  frames.  But  the  Lamut  and 
Tungus  devices  just  named  exist  in  a  climate 
as  cold  as  any  endured  by  the  Eskimo.  It  is 
necessary  to  seek  the  explanation  of  the 
absence  of  any  device  among  the  Hskimo  in 
the  difference  of  the  culture  grade.  The 
Asiatics  are  herdsmen  and  hang  the  children 
to  the  saddlebow.  The  Eskimo  have  gener- 
ally no  good  wood  for  frames  and  no  good  rea- 
son to  separate  the  infant  from  the  mother. 
When  the  child  is  young  it  rides  in  the  mother's 
hood,  between  her  fur  coat  and  her  skin  (fig. 
107).  To  prevent  the  young  passenger  from 
getting  lost  Boas  intimates  that  a  strap  is 
worn  about  the  mother's  waist.  The  costume 
of  this  unique  people  over  many  hundreds  of 
miles  of  coast  east  and  west  is  uniform  in 
this  regard.1 

When  children  are  about  a  month  old  they 
are  put  into  a  jacket  made  from  the  skin  of  a 
deer  fawn  having  a  cap  of  the  same  material, 
their  legs  remaining  bare,  as  they  are  always 
carried  in  their  mother's  hood.  In  some 
places,  where  large  boots  are  in  use,  they 
are  said  to  be  carried  in  these.2 

The  hood  of  the  jacket  is  much  the  larger 
in  that  of  the  women,  for  the  purpose  of  hold- 
ing a  chikl.  The  back  of  the  jacket  also  bulges  out  in  the  middle  to 
give  the  child  a  footing,  and  a  strap  or  girdle  below  this,  secured  round 
the  waist  by  two  large  wooden  buttons  in  front,  prevents  the  infant 
from  sliding  down/1 

The  mode  of  treating  infants  is  one  of  the  national  customs  of  a  peo- 
ple that  changes  most  slowly  says  Richardson.4 


Fig.  197. 

ESKIMO  WOMAN  OF  POINT   HARROW 
CARRY  I  Mi   CIIII.I). 

Prom  a   photograph   by  Captain    Healjr, 
V.  8.  H.  M. 


'Sixth  Aim.  l.vp.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  p.  556. 
-  Ibid,  p.  666. 

3  Ibid,  p.  557. 

4  Richardson,  '-Arctic  Searching  Expedition,"  New  York,  1852,  p.  218. 


502 


REPORT   OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


Peary  says  that  the  woman  of  North  Greenland,  like  the  man,  wore 
the  ahtee  and  netcheh,  made  respectively  of  bird  skin  and  sealskin. 
They  differed  in  pattern  from  those  of  the  man  only  in  the  back,  where 
an  extra  width  is  sewed  in,  which  forms  a  pouch  extending'  the  entire 
length  of  the  back  of  the  wearer  and  fitting  tight  around  the  hips. 
In  this  pouch  or  hood  the  baby  is  carried;  its  little  body,  covered 
only  by  a  shirt  reaching  to  the  waist,  made  of  the  skin  of  a  young 
blue  fox,  is  placed  against  the  bare  back  of  the  mother,  and  the  head, 
covered  by  a  tight-fitting  skull-cap  made  of  seal  skin,  is  allowed  to  rest 
against  the  mother's  shoulder.  In  this  way  the  Eskimo  child  is  car- 
ried constantly,  whether  awake 
or  asleep,  and  without  clothing 
except  the  shirt  and  cap,  until 
it  can  walk,  which  is  usually  at 
the  age  of  2  years;  then  it  is 
clothed  in  skin  and  allowed  to 
toddle  about.  If  it  is  the  young- 
est member  of  the  family,  after 
it  has  learned  to  walk,  it  still 
takes  its  place  in  the  mother's 
hood  whenever  it  is  sleepy  or 
tired,  just  as  American  mothers 
pick  up  their  little  toddlers  and 
rock  them.1 

When  the  Eskimo  babe  is 
large  enough  to  escape  from 
the  hood  and  walk  it  has  still 
to  be  carried  a  great  deal.  Of 
this  sort,  both  father  and  mother 
take  the  youngster  by  one  arm 
and  one  leg,  give  it  a  toss,  and 
in  a  twinkling  the  youthful  rider 
is  sitting  pickaback  astride  the 
parent's  neck  (fig.  198).  The 
author  has  seen  both  men  and 
women  carrying  young  children 
after  this  fashion. 
Women  carry  their  young  astride  their  backs.  The  child  is  held  in 
place  by  a  strap  passing  under  its  thighs  and  around  over  the  mother's 
breasts.2 

When  a  child  is  born  in  Ungava,  on  the  authority  of  Lucien  Turner, 
the  mother  wraps  it  in  the  softest  skin  she  is  able  to  procure  and  during 
its  infancy  it  is  carried  in  the  ample  hood  attached  to  her  coat. 
The  carrying  devices  for  infants  among  the  American  Indians,  as 

1 J.  Peary,  "  My  Arctic  Journal,"  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  1893,  p.  43. 
8  John  W.  Kelly,  "  Ethnographical  Memoranda  Concerning  the  Arctic  Eskimos  of 
Alaska  and  Siberia,"  Bureau  of  Education,  Circular  of  Information  No.  2, 1890,  p.  18. 


Fig.  198. 

ESKIMO  WOMAN  CARRYING  CHILD. 
From  a  photograph  in  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 


PRIMITIVE   TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION.  503 

distinguished  from  the  Eskimos,  may  now  be  examined  in  the  follow- 
ing families  and  tribes:  (1)  The  Athapascan  family,  of  Alaska  and 
Canada;  (2)  the  Algonquian  family,  of  Canada  and  the  United  States; 
(3)  the  Iroquoiau  family,  north  to  south;  (4)  the  Southern  Indians 
of  the  United  States;  (5)  the  tribes  of  the  plains  of  the  Great  West, 
especially  the  Siouan  family;  (<>)  the  Pacific  Slope  tribes  of  southeast 
Alaska  and  British  Columbia;  (7)  the  tribes  of  the  Pacific.  Slope  from 
Vancouver  Island  southward;  (8)  the  Great  Interior  Basin  and  the 
Pueblos;  (9)  Mexico  and  Central  America:  (10)  the  Cordilleras  of 
South  America;  (11)  the  Amazonian  area  and  southward;  (12)  the 
Caribbean  area. 

The  Athapascans  of  the  north  are  the  inland  neighbors  of  the 
Eskimo  and  by  the  Eev.  A.  G.  Morice  are  thus  classified: 

Northern  Denes. — Loncheux:  Lower  Mackenzie  River  and  Alaska: 
Hares:  Mackenzie,  Anderson,  and  MacFarlane  rivers;  Bad-People: 
Old  Fort  Halkett;  Slaves:  west  of  Great  Slave  Lake  an.l  Macken- 
zie River;  Dog-Ribs:  between  Great  Slave  Lake  and  Great  Bear 
Lake:  Yellow-Knives:  northeast  of  G  neat  Slave  Lake;  Caribo6  Eat- 
ers: east  of  Lake  Athabaska;  Chippewayans:  Lake  Athabaska,  etc.; 
Tse'kehne:  both  sides  of  Rocky  Mountains;  Beavers:  south  side' of 
Peace  River;  Sarcees:  east  of  Rocky  Mountains,  latitude  51°  north; 
Nah'ane:  Stickeen  River  and  east;  Carriers:  Stuarts  Lake,  north  and 
south;  Tsilkoh'tin:  Chilcotin  River. 

Southern  Denes. — Uinkwas,  Totunies,  and  Kwalhiokwas:  Oregon; 
1 1 n pas:  Hupa  Valley,  California;  Wailakis:  northern  California; 
Navajo:  Arizona;  Apache:  Oklahoma,  Colorado,  New  Mexico,  and 
Arizona:  Lipans:  New  Mexico. 

Mackenzie  s  'mewhere  intimates  that  the  Chippewayan  mothers  make 
their  upper  garments  full  in  the  shoulders.  When  traveling  they  carry 
their  infants  upon  their  backs  next  the  skin  and  convenient  to  giving 
them  nourishment.  This  is  a  transition  habit  between  Eskimo  and 
Indian  and  not  prevalent  among  the  Athapascans. 

"The  Kutchin  women,"  says  Richardson, "  do  not  carry  their  infants  in 
their  hoods  or  boots  after  the  Eskimo  fashion,  nor  do  they  stuff  them 
into  a  bag  with  moss,  as  the  Chippewayan  and  Crees  do,  but  they  place 
them  in  a  seat  of  birch  bark,  with  back  and  sides  like  those  of  an 
armchair,  and  a  pommel  in  front  resembling  the  peak  of  a  Spanish 
saddle.  This  hangs  at  the  woman's  back,  suspended  by  a  strap  which 
passes  over  her  shoulders,  and  the  infant  is  seated  in  it,  with  back  to 
hers,  and  its  legs,  well  cased  in  warm  boots,  hanging  down  on  each  side 
of  the  pommel.  The  child's  feet  are  bandaged  to  prevent  their  growing, 
small  feet  being  thought  handsome;  and  the  consequence  is  that  short, 
unshapely  feet  are  characteristic  of  the  people." ' 

The  Lower  Yukon  trough  -shaped  cradle  of  birch  bark  (example  No. 
:!i".»s(>,  in  the  TJ.  S.  National  Museum,  fig.  199)  is  made  of  three  pieces,  the 

1  Richardson,  "Arctio  S*»roliinK  Expedition,"  New  York,  18T>L'.  i>.  _'1'7. 


504 


REPORT   OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


bottom,  the  top  or  hood,  and  the  awning  piece.  The  two  parts  consti- 
tuting the  body  of  the  cradle  overlap  an  inch  and  a  half  and  are  sewed 
together  with  a  single  basting  of  pine  root,  with  stitches  half  an  inch 
apart.  Around  thebody  just  under  the  margin,  and  continuously  around 
the  border  of  the  hood  and  awning,  lies  a  rod  of  osier.  A  strip  of  birch 
bark  laid  on  the  upper  side  of  the  awning  serves  as  a  stiffener  and  is 
sewed  down  by  an  ingenious  basting  with  stitches  an  inch  or  more 
long  which  pass  down  through  two  thicknesses  of  birch  bark,  around 
the  osier  twig  just  below  the  margin,  and  up  again  through  the  two 

thicknesses  of  birch  bark  by  an- 
other opening  to  form  the  next 
stitch.  The  hood  is  formed  by 
puckering  the  birch  bark  after  the 
manner  of  a  grocer's  bag.  The  bor- 
dering osier  is  neatly  seized  to  the 
edge  of  the  hood  and  awning  by  a 
coil  of  split  spruce  root.  Kows  of 
bead  s  of  many  colors  adorn  the  awn- 
ing piece.  In  a  country  intolerable  * 
by  reason  of  the  mosquitoes  it  is 
not  strange  that  provisions  for  sus- 
taining some  sort  of  netting  should 
be  devised. 

Immediately  after  birth,  without 
being  washed,  the  Northeastern 
Tinneh  infant  is  laid  naked  on  a 
layer  of  moss  in  a  bag  made  of 
leather  and  lined  with  hare  skins. 
If  it  be  in  summer,  the  latter  is  dis- 
pensed with.  This  bag  is  then  se- 
curely laced,  restraining  the  limbs 
in  natural  positions,  and  leaving 
the  child  freedom  to  move  the  head 
only.  In  this  phase  of  its  existence 
it  resembles  strongly  an  Egyptian  mummy.  Cradles  are  never  used,  but 
this  machine,  called  a  "moss  bag,"  is  an  excellent  adjunct  to  the  rearing 
of  children  up  to  a  certain  age,  and  has  become  almost,  if  not  universally, 
adopted  in  the  families  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  employees.1 

The  Carrier  women  of  Stuart  Lake  transported  their  babes  in  cradles 
of  birch  bark,  curved  up  at  the  narrow  end  or  foot  and  prolonged  at  the 
broad  or  open  end  as  a  support  for  the  child's  head.  A  hoop  of  willow 
encircled  the  wide  end,  and  the  necessary  lacings  passed  through  a  band 
of  buckskin  bordering  the  apparatus  on  the  outside.  In  recent  times 
modifications  have  been  made  in  covers  and  in  lacings.  The  Tsilkoh'tin 
tribe  make  a  cradle  of  willov  twigs  in  form  of  a  slipper,  covered  with 


Fig.  199. 

ATHAPASCAN  CRADLE  OK  BIRCH  BARK. 

Yukon  River,  Alaska. 

Cat.  No.  32986.  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  E.  W.  Nelsc 


'Bernard  R.  Ross,  Rep.  Smithsonian  Inst.,  1866,  p.  30o. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVKL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


505 


deerskin  and  provide  a  hoop  over  the  infant's  face.1  In  this  connection 
especial  attention  is  called  to  the  Yokaia  and  the  llu pa  cradles  of  Cali- 
fornia. The  shoe  shaped  cradle  of  the  Tsilkolftiu  resembles  in  form 
and  motif  the  latter,  the  Carrier  truncated  cradle,  in  which  the  child's 
feet  are  free,  recalling  the  former,  even  as  to  the  material.2  The  reader 
will  not  forget  that  the  Hupa  came  long  ago  to  California  from  the 
Athapascan  country. 

The  Southern  Canadian  cradle  is  aboard  with  two  flaps  of  cloth  which 
lace  together  up  the  center.  The  child  is  laid  on  its  back  on  the  board, 
packed  with  soft  moss,  and  laced 
firmly  down  with  its  arms  to  its  side 
and  only  its  head  at  liberty.  The 
cradle  is  strung  on  the  back  of  the 
mother  when  traveling,  or  reared 
against  a  tree  when  resting  in  camp, 
the  child  being  only  occasionally 
released  from  bondage  for  a  few 
moments.  The  little  prisoners  arc 
remarkably  good.  No  squalling 
disturbs  an  Indian  camp.3 

Catlin  figures  a  Cree  woman  car- 
rying a  child  on  her  right  arm,  and 
holding  the  buffalo  robe  around 
the  child  with  the  left  hand.4  The 
Kickapoos,of  the  same  stock,  (terry 
the  small  child  on  the  back  in  the 
shawl  (fig.  200). 

Mr.  Lucien  Turner  reports  that 
the  Nascopi  of  Labrador  and  [Jn- 
gava,  who  are  much  affected  by 
their  proximity  to  Eskimo,  use  no 
cradle  board  for  children. 

The  principal  factor  in  the  Chip- 
pewa  infant's  house,  according  to 
Kohl,  is  a  flat  board.  For  this  pur- 
pose poplar  wood  is  selected ;  in  the 
first  place  because  it  is  light,  and 
secondly,  because  it  does  not  crack 
or  splinter.  On  this  board  a  small  frame  of  thin,  peeled  sapling  is  fas- 
tened, much  after  the  shape  of  the  child's  body,  and  stands  up  froui  the 
board  like  the  sides  of  a  violin  from  the  sounding  board.  It  is  fastened 
on  with  bast,  because  the  Indians  never  use  nails,  screws,  or  glue.  The 
cavity  is  tilled  with  very  soft  substances  for  the  reception  of  the  child. 

V.  G.  Morice,  Trans.  Canadian  Iimt.,  1894,  iv,  p.  133.  with  two 
«8ee  figures  210-212. 

:iFit7willianiM,  "Tin-  Northwest  Passage  liy  i,aiu1."  p.  8f». 
H.'atlin,  "North  Atuericau  Indiana,"  i,  p.  33. 


Fig.  200. 

KICKAPOO  (ALQONQCIAN)  WOMAN  CARKVINO  rmi.li. 
After  Hoppe. 


506  REPORT    OP   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 

They  prepare  for  this  purpose  a  mixture  composed  of  very  fine,  dry 
moss,  rotted  cedar  wood,  and  a  species  of  tender  wool  found  in  the 
seed  vessels  of  a  species  of  reed.  This  wool  was  recommended  as  a 
most  useful  ingredient  in  the  stuffing,  for  it  sucks  up  all  moisture  as 
greedily  as  a  sponge,  and  hence  there  is  no  need  to  inspect  the  baby' 
continually.  In  this  bed  the  little  beings  nestle  up  to  the  armpits — so 
far  they  are  wrapped  up  tightly  with  bandages  and  coverings,  but  the 
head  and  arms  are  free.  At  a  convenient  distance  above  the  head  is 
a  stiff  circle  of  wood,  also  fastened  to  the  cradle  with  bast.  It  serves 
as  a  protection  to  the  head,  and  if  the  cradle  happens  to  fall  over  it 
rests  on  this  arch.  In  fact,  you  may  roll  au  Indian  tikinagan  over  as 
much  as  you  please,  but  the  child  can  not  be  injured.  The  squaws  at 
times  display  extraordinary  luxury  in  the  gaily  embroidered  coverlid 
which  they  throw  over  the  whole  cradle.1 

The  Iroquois  cradle,  example  No.  18806,  has  the  backboard  carved  in 
imitation  of  peacocks  and  is  painted  in  bright  colors.  It  is  square  at 
the  top  and  the  awning  frame  is  mortised  at  the  ends,  which  allows 
them  to  slide  over  the  awning  bar  held  down  and  guyed  by  stays  on 
the  opposite  sides;  has  a  movable  foot  rest  at  the  bottom  and  thongs 
along  the  sides  for  lashing  the  baby  in.  Length,  29 J  inches;  width, 
top,  10£  inches,  bottom,  8 J  inches;  foot  rest,  height.  3£  inches;  width,  6 
inches.  The  St.  Regis  Iroquois,  in  the  north  of  New  York  and  near 
Canada,  have  for  many  years  bought  their  cradle  boards  from  the 
whites  or  made  them  of  material  bought  from  a  white  man. 

Example  No.  8894  is  like  the  last,  with  gaudily  painted  and  carved 
backboard,  and  awning  frame  carved.  Length,  31  inches;  width,  top 
11  inches,  bottom  7$  inches;  height  of  awning  frame,  12£  inches;  width 
of  top  9^,  bottom  12  inches. 

Morgan  says  that  the  Iroquois  baby  frame,  "  ga-ose-ha,"  is  an  Indian 
invention.  It  appears  to  have  been  designed  rather  as  a  convenience 
to  the  Indian  mother  for  the  transportation  of  her  infant  than,  as  has 
generally  been  supposed,  to  secure  an  erect  figure.  Tlie  frame  is  about 
2  feet  in  length  by  about  14  inches  in  width,  with  a  carved  footboard 
at  the  small  end  and  a  hoop  or  bow  at  the  head,  arching  over  at  right 
angles.  After  being  inclosed  in  a  blanket,  the  infant  is  lashed  upon  the 
frame  with  belts  of  bead  work,  which  firmly  secure  and  cover  its  person, 
with  the  exception  of  the  face.  A  separate  article  for  covering  the  face 
is  then  drawn  over  the  bow,  and  the  child  is  wholly  protected.  When 
in  use,  the  burden  strap  attached  to  the  frame  is  placed  around  the 
forehead  of  the  mother,  and  the  "  ga-ose-ha"  upon  her  back.  This 
frame  is  often  elaborately  carved,  and  its  ornaments  are  of  the  choicest 
description.  When  cultivating  the  maize,  or  engaged  in  any  outdoor 
occupation,  the  mother  hangs  the  '  ga-ose-ha"  upon  a  limb  of  the  near- 
est tree  and  left  to  swing  in  the  breeze.  The  patience  and  quiet  of  the 


1  J.  G.  Kohl,  "Wanderings  round  Lake  Superior,"  1860,  pp.  6-7. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  507 

Indian  child  in  this  close  confinement  are  quite  remarkable.  It  will 
hang  thus  suspended  for  hours  without  uttering  a  complaint. ' 

East  of  the  Mississippi  River,  north  of  the  Tennessee  and  the  North 
Carolina  line,  and  south  of  Hudson  Bay  Algonquian  and  Iroquoiau  tribes 
all  used  a  flat  cradle  board  not  far  from  2i  feet  long,  10  inches  wide, 
and  one-half  an  inch  thick,  tapering  wider  at  the  head.  Example  No. 
18800  has  the  back  carved  in  flowers  and  birds  and  painted  blue,  red, 
green,  and  yellow.  The  cleat  at  the  upper  end  of  the  back  is  a  modern 
chair  round.  The  footboard  is  a  small  shelf  or  bracket  on  which  the 
child's  feet  rest. 

u  In  the  towne  of  Daferaonquepeuc  distant  from  Koanoac  4  or  5  milles, 
the  woemen  are  attired,  and  powuced,  in  fuch  forte  as  the  woemen  of 
Roan oa<-  are,  yet  they  weare  noe  worathes  vppon  their  heads,  nether 
haue  they  their  thighes  painted  with  finall  pricks.  They  haue  a  ftrange 
manner  of  bearing  their  children,  and  quite  contrarie  to  ours.  For  our 
woemeii  carrie  their  children  in  their  armes  before  their  brefts,  but  they 
taking  their  fonne  by  the  right  hand,  bear  him  on  their  backs,  hold- 
inge  the  left  thighe  in  their  lefte  arme  after  a  ftrange  and  conuefnall 
fafhion."2 

Hodgson's  description  is  not  clear.  He  says  that  as  few  of  the  Creeks 
are  able  to  purchase  many  negroes,  almost  all  the  drudgery  is  per- 
formed by  the  women,  and  it  is  melancholy  to  meet  them,  as  we  con- 
tinually did,  with  an  infant  hanging  on  their  necks,  bending  under  a 
heavy  burden  and  leading  their  husband's  horse  while  he  walked  before 
them,  erect  and  graceful,  apparently  without  a  care.  This  servitude 
has  an  unfavorable  effect  upon  the  appearance  of  the  women,  those 
above  a  certain  age  being  generally  bent  and  clumsy,  with  a  scowl  on 
their  wrinkled  forehead  and  a  countenance  dejected.3 

The  Chetemacha  of  St.  Marys  Parish,  southern  Louisiana,  had  a 
peculiar  method  of  fastening  their  infants  in  the  cradle  boards.  They 
rocked  them  in  such  a  way  that  the  forehead  was  flattened,  while  the 
back  of  the  head  assumed  a  round  shape  by  the  rocking  motion.  This 
implies  that  the  flattening  pad,  or  short  piece  of  wood,  was  fastened  to 
the  head  only  and  not  at  the  same  time  to  the  cradle  board.4  It  also 
points  to  a  fashion  of  cradling  or  carrying  of  that  type  which  exists 
from  the  Columbia  River  mouth  northward.  The  Choctaw  custom 
should  be  studied  in  the  same  connection. 

The  frame  of  the  Comanche  cradle  (Shoshouean)  belongs  to  the  lat- 
ticed type,  as  in  figure  202,  and  is  thus  made:  Two  strips  of  narrow 


1  Lewis  H.  Morgan,  "League  of  the  Iroquois,"  1851,  pp.  390-391,  with  illustration. 

"Harlot,  "Virginia,"  Holbein  Soe.,  Manchester,  1888,  pi.  x. 

3 Hodgson,  "Letters  from  North  America,"  I,  pp.  135-136.  Compare  the  hammock 
cradle  of  the  Seminoles  (Fifth  Ann.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  p.  497)  with  Cape 
Breton  cradle  (Rep.  U.  S.  Nat.  Mas.,  1887,  p.  169)  and  drawing  in  Bruce's  report. 
(Senate  Ex.  Doc.  No.  73,  Fifty -third  Congress,  second  session.) 

<Gatechet,  Trans.  Authrop.  Soc.,  Washington,  1884,  n,  p.  153. 


508 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


board,  often  native  hewn,  wider  and  farther  apart  at  the,  upper  end, 

are  held  in  place  by  crosspieces  lashed  on  so  as  to  accommodate  the 

leather  cradle  sheath.     The  lashing  is  very  ingeniously  done.     Four 

holes-aii  inch  apart  are  bored  through  the  frame  board  and  the  cross- 
pieces  at  the  corners  of  a  square.  A  string  of 
buckskin  is  passed  backward  and  forward  from 
hole  to  hoie  and  the  two  ends  tied,  or  one  end  is 
passed  through  a  slit  cut  in  the  other.  The  lash- 
ing does  not  cross  the  square  on  either  side  diag- 
onally. Above  the  upper  crosspiece  the  frame 
pieces  project  a  foot  and  are  sharpened  on  top 
like  fence  pickets.  Disks  of  German  silver  and 
brass  headed  nails  are  used  in  profusion  to  form 
various  geometric  ornaments.  Upon  the  front  of 
the  frame,  between  the  crosspieces,  a  strip  of 
buffalo  hide  (with  the  hair  side  is  sewn  with  raw- 
hide strings  toward  the  cradle  bed).  The  inclos- 
ing case  is  a  shoe- shaped 
bag  made  of  a  single  piece 
of  soft  deerskin  lashed  to 
gether  halfway  on  top  in  the 
usual  man  ner,  and  kept  open 
around  the  face  by  a  stiffen 
ing  of  buffalo  leather.  This 
case  is  attached  to  the  frame 
by  thong  lacings.  Little 
sleigh  bells,  bits  of  leather, 
feathers,  etc.,  complete  the 
ornamentation. 

Another    Comanche    ex- 
ample, No.  6970  (fig.  201),  is 

the  most  primitive  cradle  in  the  TJ.  8.  National 

Museum.     It  is  a  strip  of  black  bearskin,  30  inches 

long  and  20  wide,  doubled  together  in  form  of  a 

cradle  case.    Along  the  side  edges  loops  of  buck 

skin  are  made  to  receive  the  lacing.    The  loops  are 

formed  as  follows:  A  buckskin  string  is  passed 

through  a  hole  in  the  bearskin,  and  the  longer 

end  passed  through  a  slit  or  cut  in  the  shorter 

end.    The  long  end  is  then  passed  through  the 

next  hole  and  drawn  until  a  loop  of  sufficient  size 

is  left;  a  slit  is  made  in  the  string  near  the  last 

hole  passed   through,  and   then  the  whole  lash 

ing  is  drawn  through  this  slit.     This  serves  the 

purpose  of  a  knot  at  each  hole,  as  in  many  other  cradles. 

piece  of  bearskin  is  sewed  in  with  coarse  leather  string. 
The  Blackfeet  Indian  women  of  Montana  carried  their  more  advanced 


Fig.  201. 

COMANCHE     CRADLE  OK  BEAR- 
SKIN. 

Cat.  No.  C970  U.  S.  N.  M      Colic,  ted  by 
Edward  Palmer. 


KifJ.  202 

TRELLIS  CKADI.E  USED  BVTHE 
BLACKFEET  INDIANS  OP 
MONTANA. 

Cut.  No.  691*.  U.  S.  N.  M     Collect.-.! 
by  Edward  Palmer. 


A  foot 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


509 


children  in  their  anus  or  in  a  robe  behind  their  backs.  When  travel- 
ing the  children  were  placed  in  sacks  of  skin  on  the  tent  poles.  No  cra- 
dle of  any  form  was  seen.1  Maximilian  also  tells  of  a  Minitaree  woman 
who  carried  a  little  ehild  wrapped  in  a  piece  of  leather  fastened  with 
straps.2  This  occurrence  of  a  frameless  cradle  in  three  spots  east  of  the 
h'ocky  Mountains  lends  color  to  the  statement  that  the  introduction  of 
the  horse  greatly  modified  the  method  of  carrying  infants. 

Among  the  relies  of  the  Catlin  collection  are  two  old  cradles.  Of 
one  the  following  description  will  suffice:  Backboard  square  at  the 
top;  carved  and  painted;  awning 
frame  bent  and  painted ;  covering 
cloth  decorated  with  beads  and 
tacked  around  theedgeof  the  side 
board,  brought  up  and  laced  in 
the  middle  like  a  shoe;  length, 
28J  inches;  width,  l.'i  inches. 

The  description  of  the  second 
example  (tig.  L'O.'i)  is  as  follows: 
1  iackboard  carved  on  front  above; 
back  brace  with  large,  rounded 
endsextendingoutward ;  foot  rest 
low,  curved  around  at  the  bottom ; 
cradle  covered  over  with  quill 
work  in  red,  white,  and  black  pat- 
terns— lozenges,  women,  horses, 
etc.;  decorated  with  iron  bells; 
opening  across  the  cradle  cov- 
ered in  the  middle  with  embroid- 
ered quilt;  length,  31£  inches; 
width,  lOf  inches;  head  frame,* 
Oi  inches;  height,  13f  inches.3 

A  plate  from  Catlin  in  the 
Report  of  the  National  Museum 
for  1885,  is  most  significant. 
Here  the  Sioux  woman  carries  a 
helpless  infant  in  a  cradle,  laced 
down,  feet  and  all.  A  second  has  an  older  child  on  her  back  infolded 
in  her  blanket.  Further  on  the  scene  is  changed.  It  is  the  epoch  of 
the  horse,  and  both  women  seem  to  be  lifted  from  the  ground  bodily 
without  changing  the  positions  of  their  burdens.  (Fig.  204.) 

Example  No.  7547L*  is  an  Ogallala  Sioux  cradle.     The  frame  is  made 
ot  two  diverging  slats  painted  yellow,  held  in  place  at  the  head  and 

1  Stevens,  Ann.  Rep.  hid.  Affairs,  1854,  p.  204. 

•  "Travels  in  the  Interior  of  North  America,"  London,  1848,  p.  180. 

3  Rep.  Smithsonian  lust.  (IT.  S.  Nat.  Mus.)    1887,  p.  202. 


Fig.  203. 

ALQONQOIAN  CRADLE,  DECORATED  WITH  QUILL  WORK. 
Collected  by  George  Catlin. 


510 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


foot  by  cross  slats  lashed  as  in  the  Blackfeet  cradle,  with  this  differ- 
ence, namely,  that  the  string  crosses   between  the  holes  diagonally. 


Fig.  204. 

ALQONQUIAN   CRADLES  IN   USE. 
From  »  figure  in  the  Report  of  the  <i, nth-,, urn,  Institution  ( U.  S.  National  Museum),  1885. 

This  may  have  no  significance.    The  tops  of  the  side  piece  project 
above  the  cradle  sack  at  least  18  inches,  and  are  studded  with  brass- 


PRIMITIVE   TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


511 


headed  nails  in  straight  lines.  As  in  the  Blackfeet  cradle,  there  is  a 
bottom  or  mattress,  but  a  quilt  of  calico,  lined,  supplants  the  buffalo 
hide.  The  baby  case  proper  is  shoe  shaped,  the  part  around  the  head 
and  .shoulders  stiffened  with  a  lining  of  buffalo  leather.  All  over  the 
outside  beadwork  is  laid  on  in  geometric  patterns  of  blue,  red,  yellow, 
green,  and  blue  black  on  a  white  ground.  The  beads  are  strung  on  a 
fine  sinew  thread  in  proper  number  and  color  to  extend  quite  across  the 
case.  This  string  is  then  tacked  down  at  inter 
vals  of  three-fourths  of  an  inch  so  regularly  as 
to  form  continuous,  creased  lines  extending  from 
the  foot  longitudinally  around  the  baby  case  to 
the  foot  on  the  other  side  to  imitate  porcupine- 
quill  work.  Streamers  of  colored  tape  and  rib- 
bon take  the  place  of  old-fashioned  fur  and 
feathers.  The  edges  of  the  lower  half  of  the 
case  are  joined  by  four  strings  tied  separately, 
instead  of  the  universal  lashing.  There  are 
about  this  cradle  several  marks  of  modifica- 
tion by  contact  with  whites,  which  show  at 
the  same  time  the  tenacity  with  which  old 
forms  remain  and  readiness  with  which  they 
yield  to  pressure  at  the  points  of  least  resist- 
ance, indicating  also  where  the  points  of  least 
resistance  are. 

TheDakotashad  ornamented  frames  for  cradles, 
to  which  they  fastened  the  child  with  leather 
straps,  one  passing  over  the  head,  the  other 
over  the  middle  of  the  body.  The  workmanship 
of  these  leather  straps  was  remarkably  neat 
and  curious,  they  being  entirely  covered  with  a 
ground  of  milk-white  porcupine  quills,  on  which 
figures  of  men,  of  a  vermilion  color,  and  black 
figures  of  dogs  and  other  similar  patterns,  were 
most  tastefully  embroidered,  and  all  of  the  most 
lively  and  well-chosen  colors.1  (Fig.  205.) 

In  another  Sioux  tent  Maximilian  found  a  child  hung  up  in  a  leather 
pouch  of  very  beautiful  workmanship.  These  nests,  which  serve  instead 
of  cradles,  were  so  large  that  only  the  child's  head  was  visible.  This 
pouch  had  on  the  upper  side  two  broad  stripes  of  dyed  porcupine  quills 
and  several  pretty  rosettes  with  long  strings  of  different  colors,  and 
was  lined  with  fur.2 

The  Naudowessi  women,  according  to  Carver,  placed  their  children 
soon  after  they  were  born  on  boards  stuffed  with  soft  moss,  such  as 


Fig.  205. 

TRELLIS  CRADLE  OF  THE  OGAL- 
LALA  SIOUX   INDIANS. 
Cat  No.  75472,  U.  S.  N.  M 


1  Maximilian,  "Travels  in  the  Interior  of  North  America,"  j>.  157. 
'Ibid.,  p.  204. 


512  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

is  found  in  morasses  or  meadows.  The  child  was  laid  on  its  back  in 
one  of  this  kind  of  cradles,  and,  being  wrapped  in  skins  or  cloth  to 
keep  it  warm,  was  secured  in  it  by  small  bent  pieces  of  timber.  To 
these  machines  they  fastened  strings,  by  which  they  hung  them  to 
branches  of  trees;  or,  if  they  found  no  trees  at  hand,  fastened  them 
to  a  stump  or  stone  while  they  transacted  any  needful  business.  In 
this  position  the  children  were  kept  for  months,  when  they  were  taken 
out. ' 

As  soon  as  the  Sioux  Indian  baby  is  born,  says  Dodge,  it  is  placed 
in  a  coffin  shaped  receptacle,  where  it  passes  nearly  the  whole  of  the 
first  year  of  its  existence,  being  taken  out  only  once  or  twice  a  day  for 
washing  or  change  of  clothing.  This  clothing  is  of  the  most  primitive 
character,  the  baby  being  simply  swaddled  in  a  dressed  deerskin  or 
piece  of  thick  cotton  cloth  which  envelops  the  whole  body  below  the 
neck.  The  outside  of  the  cradle  varies  with  the  wealth  or  taste  of  the 
mother,  scarcely  two  being  exactly  alike.  Some  are  elaborately  orna- 
mented with  furs,  feathers,  and  beadwork ;  others  are  perfectly  plain. 
Whatever  the  outside,  the  cases  themselves  are  nearly  the  same. 

A  piece  of  dried  buffalo  hide  is  cut  into  proper  shape,  then  turned  on 
itself,  and  the  front  fastened  with  strings.  The  face  of  the  babe  is  always 
exposed.  The  whole  is  then  tightly  fastened  to  a  board  or,  in  the  most 
approved  cradles,  to  two  narrow  pieces  of  board  joined  together  in  the 
form  of  a  ladder.  It  forms  a  real  u  nest  ot  comfort,"  and  as  the  Indian  is 
not  a  stickler  on  the  score  of  cleanliness,  it  is  the  very  best  cradle  that 
they  could  adopt.  To  the  board  or  slats  is  attached  a  strap  which, 
passed  over  the  head,  rests  on  the  mother's  chest  and  shoulders, 
leaving  the  arms  free.  When  about  the  lodge  the  mother  stands  the 
cradle  in  some  out  of- the  way  corner,  or  in  fine  weather  against  a  tree; 
or  if  the  wind  is  blowing  fresh  it  is  hung  to  a  branch,  where  it  fulfills 
all  the  promise  of  a  nursery  rhyme. 

When  the  baby  is  10  months  to  a  year  old  it  is  released  from  its 
confinement  and  for  a  year  or  two  more  of  its  lite  takes  its  short  jour- 
neys on  its  mother's  back  in  a  simple  way.  It  is  placed  well  up  between 
the  shoulders;  the  blanket  is  then  thrown  over  both,  and  being  drawn 
tightly  at  the  ironi  01  ner  neck  by  the  mother,  leaves  a  fold  behind,  in 
which  the  little  one  rides  securely  and  apparently  without  the  slightest 
inconvenience  to  either  rider  or  ridden.  A  Nez  Perce  woman  may  be 
seen  playing  a  vigorous  game  of  ball  with  a  baby  on  her  back.2 

Examining  a  collection  of  cradles  from  the  United  States  east  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  the  student  is  at  a  loss  to  harmonize  the  object  with 
the  old  descriptions.  Often  the  traveler  speaks  of  a  board  being  used, 
and  this  is  true  for  cradles  east  of  the  Plains,  or  where  timber  abounds, 
but  on  the  Plains  the  cradle  is  backed  by  lattice  work,  with  sharp  ends 


'Carver,  "Three  Years'  Travels,"  Philadelphia,  1796,  p.  151. 

2  Dodge,  "Our  Wild  Indians,"  Hartford,  1883,  Worthington,  pp.  185-186. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  513 

projecting  upward.     Of  course,  aboriginally,  there  was  no  board  cradle 
back,  and  even  the  modern  nicely  planed  slats  were  unknown. 

On  the  Pacific  Slope  of  America,  between  Mount  St.  Elias  ;m<l  I'uget 
Sound,  are  the  following  great  stocks  of  Indians: 

1.  Koluschan  or  Tlingit. — Including  Auk,  Chilcat,  Hanega,  Hood- 
suuu,  Hunah,  Kek,  Sitka,  Stahkin,Tagish,Taku,Tongas8,  and  Yakut  at. 

2.  Skittagetan. — Called  also  Haida. 

3.  Chimmesyan. — The  Nasqa  and  Tsimshian  of  Boas. 

4.  Wakaxhan. — A  lit  and  Haeltzuk  tribes. 

5.  Salishnn. — In  British  Columbia,  Washington,  and  Montana. 

The  Tlingit  have  three  forms  of  cradle.  The  first  is  a  simple  piece  of 
bark  curled  up,  and  the  very  young  child  is  securely  lodged  therein. 
The  second  is  made  of  a  backing  of  hard  substance,  basketry,  etc.,  and 
the  front  is  a  close  curving  or  boot  of  sealskin  or  some  other  warm  fur. 
The  third  is  the  trough-shaped  variety  seen  farther  south.  Both  in  the 
matter  of  form  and  of  carrying  appliances  the  Pacific  Slope  cradles  are 
to  be  compared  with  northern  forms  of  the  Eastern  Continent.  Espe- 
cially to  be  noted  are  the  four  guys  or  strings  from  the  upper  border  of 
the  trough  or  the  basket  instead  of  or  in  addition  to  the  headband  at 
the  back.  Furthermore,  on  this  coast  are  both  forms  with  reference  to 
the  feet,  that  in  which  they  are  lashed  down  and  that  in  which  they 
are  free,  but  the  free  form  is  doubtless  the  older. 

The  situation  of  the  Tchiukitanayan  (Koluschan)  children  at  the 
breast,  says  Marchand,  is,  however,  deplorable.  They  are  packed  up 
in  a  sort  of  wicker  cradle,  somewhat  like  one  of  our  chairs,  the  back  of 
which  has  been  cut  at  a  small  height  above  the  seat.  The  cradle  is 
covered  outwardly  with  dry  leather  and  lined  with  furs  in  the  place 
where  the  child  is  to  rest.  Placed  in  a  sitting  posture,  with  its  legs 
extended  and  stuck  one  against  the  other,  it  is  covered  to  the  chin  by 
an  otter  skin  and  tied  down  in  order  to  fix  it  on  its  bed  of  pain  by 
leather  straps  which  leave  it  no  liberty  except  for  the  motions  of  its 
head.  Care  is  taken  to  cover  the  seat  on  which  it  rests  with  dry  moss, 
and  some  of  the  same  material  is  placed  between  its  thighs.1 

Example  No.  20550  is  a  Bella  coola  cradle  (fig.  206a),  consisting  of  a 
trough-shaped  frame  made  of  two  pieces  of  giant  cedar,  as  follows:  The 
bottom  and  headboard  are  in  one  piece  abou*:  one  half  to  three-fourths 
of  an  inch  thick,  and  the  two  sides  and  foot  are  in  one  piece.  The 
angles  and  the  bends  near  the  child's  knees  are  effected  by  scarfing  the 
wood  almost  through  on  the  inside  and  boiling  and  bending  it  into 
shape.  In  this  art  these  Indians  are  very  expert,  making  great  num- 
bers of  boxes  for  food  and  clothing  with  joints  invisible  on  the  outside. 

The  joints  of  this  cradle  are  united  by  means  of  small  withes  of 
willow.  Characteristic  marks  are  the  flat  bottom ;  headboard  like  a  little 
gravestone,  painted  in  red  and  black,  with  conventional  symbol  of  a 

1  Marchand,  "  Voyage  Around  the  World,"  London,  1801,  i,  p.  262.    Cf.  tigs.  195  and 

~  I  1* 

H.  Mis.  90,  pt.  2 33 


514 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


totein;  two  streaks  of  red  paint  on  the  upper  margin  of  the  sides;  the 
change  in  the  angle  of  convergence  near  the  child  effected  by  scarfing 
and  bending  the  sides. 

The  bed  consists  of  a  mass  of  finely -shredded  cedar  bark.  This  is 
overlaid  with  some  kind  of  cloth  or  fur,  and  the  lashing  passes  through 
holes  in  flaps  of  rawhide,  in  place  of  the  series  of  eyelet  loops  occurring 
on  cradles  farther  south. 

The  Wakashan  child  lies  at  full  length  and  the  sides  of  the  cradle 
are  sufficiently  high  to  enable  the  mother  to  lace  it  in  by  a  cord  passed 


Fig.  206.  6 

CRADLES  FROM  THE  NORTH  PACIFIC  COAST. 

(a)  Cat.  No.  20556,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Bella  Coola  (Salishan)  Indians.     Collected  by  J.  G.  Swan. 
(6)  Cat.  No.  2574,  U.  S.  N.  M.    Chinook  Indiana.     Collected  by  Lieutenant  Willies. 

from  side  to  side,  a  small  block  being  put  at  one  end  as  a  pillow.  When 
the  mother  is  traveling  she  carries  the  cradle  on  her  back  in  nearly  an 
upright  position  with  the  head  appearing  just  above  her  shoulders,  but 
if  she  is  working  she  suspends  the  infant  from  a  pliant  branch  of  a  tree, 
or  sticking  a  pole  in  the  ground  at  a  slight  angle  hangs  the  cradle, 
sometimes  upright,  sometimes  horizontally,  on  the  end  of  it.  She  moves 
pole  and  cradle  so  as  to  keep  it  near  her  and  every  now  and  then  gives 
the  latter  a  swing  so  that  it  rocks  up  and  down.  It  is  said  that  when 
children  die  they  are  put  in  some  lake  or  pool  in  their  cradles  and  loft 
to  float,  the  water  being  regarded  as  sacred  ever  after.1  Especial 


1  Mayue,  "  British  Columbia  ami  Vancouver  Islaml,"  p.  303. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  515 

attention  is  called  to  the  double  method  of  suspending  the  cradle, 
though  there  may  be  only  one  way  of  carrying  it.  Dr.  Boas  has  sent 
to  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  three  photographs  of  the  cradles  of  the 
Kwakiutl  or  Fort  Rupert  Indians  of  this  stock,  and  in  each  of  them 
the  mother  has  suspended  the  object  horizontally  from  a  bough  and  is 
rocking  it  by  means  of  a  string  with  the  hand  or  the  toe. 

As  soon  as  a  Similk:imeen  child  in  British  Columbia  can  sit  alone  it  is 
placed  on  horseback,  indeed  before  that  it  becomes  i ami liari/ed  with 
horses,  for  while  a  child  is  still  bound  on  a  u  papoose  stick,"  it  is  hung 
by  a  strap  to  the  pommel  of  its  mother's  saddle,  and  away  it  goes  Hying 
with  her  over  the  bunch-grass  hills,  and  they  thus  make  good  riders, 
with  firm,  easy,  graceful  seating.1 

The  Twana  in  Washington  State  have  no  cradles,  but  for  young 
infants  they  have  a  small  board  about  the  length  of  the  child,  on  which 
they  place  cedar  bark,  which  is  beaten  up  very  fine,  and  on  this  they 
tie  the  child  a  large  portion  of  the  time.  When  the  child  is  a  little 
older  but  not  strong  enough  to  hold  on  its  mother's  neck,  she  wraps  a 
blanket  or  shawl  around  it  and  herself  and  thus  carries  it  on  her 
back. 

The  cradle  often  lies  down,  but  sometimes  is  hung  on  a  small  stick,  a 
few  feet  high,  which  is  fastened  in  the  ground  or  floor,  in  a  slanting 
direction,  and  acts  as  a  spring.  A  string  is  fastened  to  it,  and  the 
mother  pulls  the  string,  which  keeps  the  stick  constantly  moving  and 
the  cradle  and  child  constantly  swinging.  This  is  done  with  the  bare 
foot  when  the  hands  are  busy  at  work.2 

Example  No.  1043  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  is  a  cradle  trough 
rudely  hewn  out  of  cedar  wood.  A  low  bridge  is  left  across  the  trough 
to  strengthen  it.  Slats  are  put  across  to  the  level  of  the  height  of  the 
bridge.  The  bedding  is  mats  of  cedar  bark.  On  the  lower  end  of 
the  cradle  is  a  handle.  Around  the  sides  are  fastened  strings.  The 
compress  for  the  head  is  fastened  by  means  of  cords  to  the  sides  of  the 
cradle.  It  is  woven  of  root  and  straw  and  stuffed  tightly  with  cedar 
bark.  In  the  cradle  is  a  wooden  model  of  a  baby  undergoing  the  process 
of  head  flattening.  The  covering  is  a  cedar  mat. 

Length,  26  inches;  width  in  the  middle,  8f  inches;  length  of  end,  5 
inches;  upper,  6£  inches;  depth,  4£  inches;  length  of  head  compress, 
10  inches;  width  of  the  stem,  3  inches  expanded;  end,  3£  inches.  Col- 
lected by  J.  G.  Swan. 

Example  No.  1044  is  a  similar  trough  (empty). 

The  cradle  of  the  Makah  Indians,  the  most  southern  extension  of  the 
Wakashan  stock,  at  Cape  Flattery,  Washington,  is  the  cedar  trough  or 
ark  prevalent  further  north  and  a  little  southward.  Swan  collected 
cradles  from  this  tribe  and  conveys  the  important  information  that  they 
are  suspended  horizontally  by  strings  reaching  from  four  corners  to  a 

'Mrs.  Allison,  Journ.  Anthrop.  Inst.,  London.  1892.  xxi,p. 306. 
*M.  Eells,  Bull.  U.  S.  Ueol.  and  Geog.  Surv.,  1877,  pp.  3,68,102. 


516 


REPORT    OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


pliant  pole,  and  that  is  swung  or  rocked  by  the  mother  with  her  hand, 
or,  if  she  be  engaged  at  work,  she  does  the  rocking  with  her  great  toe.1 
As  soon  as  a  Makah  child  is  born  it  is  washed  in  warm  urine  and 
then  smeared  with  whale  oil  and  placed  in  a  cradle  made  of  bark, 
woven  basket  fashion,  or  of  wood,  either  cedar  or  alder,  hollowed  out 
for  the  purpose.  Into  the  cradle  a  quantity  of  finely  separated  cedar 
bark  of  the  softest  texture  is  first  thrown.  At  the  foot  is  a  board 
raised  at  an  angle  of  about  25°  which  serves  to  keep  the  child's  feet 

elevated  or,  when  the  cradle  is  raised,  to 
allow  the  child  to  nurse,  to  form  a  support 
for  the  body  or  a  sort  of  a  seat.  This  is 
also  covered  with  bark,  he-se-yu.  A  pillow 
is  formed  of  the  same  material  just  high 
enough  to  keep  the  head  in  its  natural  posi- 
tion, with  the  spinal  column  neither  elevated 
nor  depressed.  First  the  child  is  laid  on  its 
back,  its  legs  properly  extended,  its  arms 
put  close  to  its  sides,  and  a  covering  either 
of  bark  or  cloth  laid  over  it, 
and  then,  commencing  at  its 
feet,  the  whole  body  is  firmly 
laced  up,  so  that  it  has  no 
chance  to  move  in  the  least. 
When  the  body  is  well  secured 
a  padding  of  he-se-yu  is  placed 
over  the  child's  forehead,  over 
which  is  laid  bark  of  a  some- 
what stiffer  texture,  and  the 
head  is  firmly  lashed  down  to 
the  sides  of  the  cradle.  Thus 
the  infant  remains,  seldom 
taken  out  more  than  once  a 
day  while  it  is  very  young, 
and  then  only  to  wash  it  and 
dry  its  bedding.  The  same  style  of  cradle  appears  to  be  used  whether 
it  is  intended  to  compress  the  skull  or  not,  and  that  deformity  is  accom- 
plished by  simply  drawing  the  strings  of  the  head-pad  tightly  and  keep- 
ing up  the  pressure  for  a  long  time.  Children  are  usually  kept  in  these 
cradles  till  they  are  a  year  old,  but  as  their  growth  advances  they  are 
not  tied  up  quite  so  long  for  the  first  few  mouths.  The  mother  in  wash- 
ing her  child  seldom  takes  the  trouble  to  heat  water;  she  simply  fills 
her  inoutb  with  water  and  when  she  thinks  it  warm  enough  spirts  it 
on  the  child  and  rubs  it  with  her  hand.  If  the  infant  be  very  dirty,  a 
wash  of  stale  urine  is  used,  which  effectually  removes  the  oil  and  dirt.2 


Fig.  207. 

NEZ  I'EKCK    (SHAHAPTIAN)   CRADLE. 
Cat.  No.  23845,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  J.  B.  Monteith. 


1  J.  G.  Swan,  "Indians  of  Cape  Flattery,"  Washington,  1869,  pp.  7-18. 
2 Ibid.,  pp.  18-19. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL   AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


517 


A  cradle  box  and  doll  in  the  Emmons  Tlingit  collection  illustrates 
what  is  meant  by  leaving  the  feet  free.  It  is  a  coffin -shaped  box,  with 
sides  curved  out,  headboard  elevated,  and  a  false  bottom  board  that  lias 
one  end  under  the  child's  thighs  and  the  other  cocked  up  on  the  top  of 
a  wooden  image  representing  a  man's  head.  The  child  is  wrapped  in 
fur,  its  face  and  feet  bare. 

In  the  same  collection  is  a  Kawitchin  (Salishan)  basket  cradle. 
Seventeen  strips  of  wood  form  the  warp  of  the  bottom.  These  are 
covered  with  coiled-  weaving  of  split  bark.  The  sides  and  ends  of  the 
cradle  are  similarly  made  and  are  eight  strips  high.  The  edge  consists 
of  a  narrow  beading.  The  upper  side  of  the 
outside  is  overlaid  with  strips  of  straw  and 
brown  bark  in  geometric  patterns.  The  child 
is  laid  at  length  in  this  apparatus.  There  is  a 
short  loop  at  one  end  for  suspension  vertically. 
For  the  purpose  of  carnage  a  string  is  tied  to 
both  margins  in  front,  another  is  similarly  tied 
across  the  foot  of  the  frame.  The  carrying 
string  or  baud  is  fastened  to  the  middle  of 
these  two  cross  strings  and  the  child  is  borne 
hori/on tally,  precisely  as  in  Russia  and  Siberia. 
This  is  a  very  beautiful  object,  and  though 
collected  among  the  Kawitchin,  is  in 
a  style  of  weaving  peculiarly  Shahap- 
tian. 

The  Walla  Walla  Indian  women  form- 
erly sat  astride  a  saddle  made  with  high 
pommel  and  cautle.  In  traveling  they 
carried  their  infants  either  dangling  by 
the  cradle  strap  to  the  pommel  or  slung 
in  ;i  blanket  over  their  shoulders.  Here, 
as  elsewhere,  a  hoop  was  bent  over  the 
child's  face  to  protect  it  from  injury. 
In  these  cradles  the  feet  of  the  children 
were  bandaged  and  made  straight  for 
the  coming  swift  and  enduring  runner. 

Example  No.  23845  is  a  cradle  of  the 
Nez  Perce,  in  Wyoming,  and  example  No.  129675  a  specimen  from 
the  Spokane  Indians,  both  of  the  Shahaptian  stock  (figs.  207,  208). 
Although  both  tribes  are  in  the  Pacific  drainage,  they  are  away  from 
the  land  of  boats  and  in  the  area  of  great  game.  At  present  they  are 
horse  Indians,  and  they  have  been  so  during  a  long  time.  Their  method 
of  transporting  children  will,  therefore,  partake  of  two  natures  or  spring 
from  two  motives. 

The  passenger  is  in  fact  encapsulated  in  a  narrow  leather  inclosure, 
very  much  like  the  upper  part  of  a  passenger  toboggan  in  the  Hudson 


Fig.  208. 

SPOKANE   (SHAHAITIAN)   CRADLE. 

State  of  Washington. 

Cat   No.  12967&,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Mrs    A.  C. 
McBean. 


518 


REPORT    OP   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 


Bay  country.  The  basis  of  the  cradle  is  a  kite-shaped  board  3  feet 
high.  The  exposed  parts  of  the  board,  back  and  front,  are  covered 
with  buckskin,  and  above  the  hood  the  front  is  adorned  with  bead- 
work.  The  opening  for  the  child  is  left  by  the  edges  of  the  buckskin. 
A  rigid  lining  to  the  hood  forms  the  protection  of  the  child's  head.  A 
strap  on  the  back  of  the  board  serves  for  suspension  on  the  mother's 
head,  from  the  saddlebow,  or  upon  a  limb  or  hook. 

In  the  making  of  a  cradle  by  the  Chinook  Indians  at  the  Columbia 
mouth,  a  block  of  cedar  wood  30  inches  long  and  1-2  inches  square  was 

roughly  hewn  in  shape  of  a  scow  with 
bulging  sides.  At  the  foot,  on  the  out- 
side, was  carved  a  handle.  The  bed  was 
of  shredded  cedar  bark,  and  the  cover- 
ing, a  quilt  of  the  same  material  roughly 
held  together  by  twined  weaving.  A 
long  pad  was  hinged  to  the  headboard 
and  so  arranged  as  to  be  drawn  down 
over  the  child's  forehead  and  lashed  to 
either  side  of  the  trough. 

An  interesting  feature  about  this 
form  of  cradle  is  the  appliance  for 
lashing  the  child,  as  seen  in  exam- 
ple No.  2574,  U.  S.  National  Museum, 
fig.  206  (6) : 

1.  A  series  of  holes  along  the  side 
just  below  the  margin,  parallel  with 
the  border  most  of  the  way,  but  sloping 
quite  away  from  it  at  the  head. 

2.  A  cord  of  coarse  root  laid  along 
next  to  these  holes  on  the  outside  of 

.the  cradles. 

3.  On  either  side  of  the  bedding  a 
series  of  loops   for  the  lacing  string 
formed  by  passing  a  twine  through  the 
first  hole,  around  the  root  cord  on  the 
outside,  back  through  the  same  hole  up 
to  the  middle  of  the  cradle  to  form  a 

loop,  back  through  the  next  hole  in  the  same  manner. 

4.  The  lacing  string  runs  through  these  loops  alternately  from  bot- 
tom to  top. 

The  ornamentation  of  this  type  of  cradle  is  chiefly  by  means  of  parti- 
colored basketry  and  furs.  The  Chinook  were  an  advanced  people  in 
art,  and  many  of  their  cradles  were  very  prettily  adorned.  Mr.  Catlin 
figures  one  in  which  the  process  of  head  flattening  is  going  forward.1 

Example  No.  2575  (fig.  209)  is  a  specimen  collected  by  Wilkes.  This 
cradle  board  is  shaped  like  a  trowel,  with  a  short  triangular  handle.  It 

<  'all in  "North  American  Indians."  n.  p.  110,  pi.  210£,  letter  a. 


Fig.  209. 
CRADLE  USED  BY  THE  OREGON  INDIANS. 

Gat  No.  2675,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  the  Wilkes  I 
ploring  Expedition. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


519 


is  covered  with  buckskin  in  a  single  piece,  secured  around  the  bottom 
and  up  the  axis  of  the  cradle  as  far  as  the  foot  of  the  bed.  The  bed  is 
a  little  mound  in  the-  middle  of  the  board.  Around  its  lower  margin  the 
buckskin  covering  of  the  cradle  board  is  stretched  by  means  of  a  raw- 
hide string  run  quite  through  the  board  and  outlining  the  bed  on  the 
back  of  the  board.  The  flaps  of  buckskin  are  drawn  up  for  the  bed 
inclosure,  and  a  series  of  the  ordinary  loops  are  tied  along  both  edges  to 
receive  the  lashing  string.  A  triangular  Hap  lashed  at  the  three  angles 
covers  the  legs  and  feet.  A  more  ornamental  Hap  forms  the  hood, 
notched  and  beaded,  and  is  bound  last  over  the  forehead.  Along  the 
top  pf  the  cradle  are  beautiful 
fringes  of  leather  and  bead- 
work. 

The  Modoc  women  make  a 
very  pretty  baby  basket  of  tine 
willow  work,  cylinder  shaped, 
with  one-half  of  it  cut  away, 
except  a  few  inches  at  the  ends. 
It  is  intended  to  be  set  up 
against  the  wall  or  carried  ou 
the  back,  hence  the  infant  is 
lashed  perpendicular  in  it, 
with  its  feet  standing  out  free 
at  one  end  and  the  other  end 
covering  its  head  like  a  small 
parasol.  In  one  this  canopy 
is  supported  by  small  stand- 
ards spirally  wrapped  with 
strips  of  gay-colored  calico, 
with  looped  and  scalloped 
hangings  between.  The  little 
fellow  is  wrapped  all  around 
like  a  mummy,  with  nothing 
visible  but  his  head,  and  some- 
times even  that  is  bandaged 
back  tight  so  that  he  may  sleep  standing.  From  the  manner  in  which 
the  tender  skull  is  thus  bandaged  back  it  occasionally  results  that  it 
grows  backward  and  upward  at  an  angle  of  about  45°. 

The  painstaking  which  the  Modoc  squaw  expends  on  her  baby  basket 
is  an  index  to  her  maternal  love.  Ou  the  other  hand,  a  California  squaw 
often  carelessly  sets  her  baby  in  a  deep  conical  basket,  the  same  in 
which  she  carries  her  household  effects,  leaving  him  loose  and  liable  to 
fall  out.  If  she  makes  a  baby  basket  it  is  totally  devoid  of  ornament, 
and  one  tribe,  the  Mi  wok,  contemptuously  call  it  the  "dog's  nest."  It 
is  among  Indians  like  these  that  we  hear  of  infanticides. 

Kxample  No.  126")1  J)  (tig.  210)  is  a  cradle  basket  of  the  Hupas  of  north- 
western California.  A  slipper  shaped,  openwork  basket  of  osier  warp 


Fig.  210. 

HUPA  INDIAN  CRADLE  BASKET. 
Cat.  No.  116519,  1).'  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Capt  P.  H.  R.jr.  U.  S.  A. 


520 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


and  twined  weaving  constitutes  the  body  of  the  cradle.  It  is  woven  as 
follows:  Commencing  at  the  upper  end,  the  small  ends  of  the  twigs  are 
held  in  place  one-eighth  inch  apart  by  three  rows  of  twined  weaving 
followed  by  a  row  in  which  an  extra  strengthening  twig  is  whipped  or 
served  in  place  as  in  the  Makah  basketry.  At  intervals  of  2£  to  3  inches 
are  three  rows  of  twined  basketry,  every  alternate  series  having  one  of 
the  strengthening  twigs,  increasing  in  thickness  downward.  The  twigs 
constituting  the  true  bottom  of  the  so-called  slipper  continue  to  the  end 
of  the  square  toe  and  are  fastened  off,  while  those  that  form  the  sides 
are  ingeniously  bent  to  form  the  vamp  of  the  slipper.  This  part  of  the 
frame  is  held  together  by  rows  of  twined  weaving  boustrophedon. 


Fig. 211. 

YOKAIA  CRADLE,   FROM  CALIFORNIA. 
From  a  painting  by  Mrs.  J.  W.  Hudson. 

When  two  rows  of  this  kind  of  twining  lie  quite  close,  it  has  the  appear- 
ance of  four-ply  plaiting,  and  has  been  taken  for  such  by  the  superficial 
observer.  The  binding  around  the  opening  of  the  cradle  is  formed  of  a 
bundle  of  twigs  seized  with  a  strip  or  tough  root.  The  awning  is  made 
of  open  wicker  and  twined  basketry  bound  with  colored  grass.  This 
pretty  flat  cone  resembles  the  salmon  baskets  figured  and  described  in 
the  Eay  collection. 

The  child  is  not  straightened  out  in  this  type,  but  sits  with  its  feet 
partially  exposed.  The  long  toe  of  the  frame  holds  the  infant  above 
the  ground.  At  this  point  the  horizontal  and  suspensory  cradle  leaves 
oft'  and  the  standing  cradle  begins. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL   AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


521 


There  is,  in  the  U.  8.  National  Museum,  a  cradle  (example  No.  19614) 
for  a  new-born  babe  from  the  McCloud  Uivrr  Indians,  of  California, 
belonging  to  the  basket-tray  type.  It  is  shaped  very  much  like  a  large 
grain  scoop,  or  the  lower  half  of  a  moccasin,  and  made  of  twigs  in  twined 
weaving.  There  are  double  rows  of  twining  2  inches,  or  such  a  matter, 
apart,  and  nearly  all  of  them  are  boustrophedon.  which  gives  the  appear- 
ance of  a  four-ply  "braid. 

The  general  shoe  shape  of  the  cradle  is  effected  by  commencing  at  the 
heel,  which  is  here  the  bottom,  and  doubling  the  twigs  by  a  continually 
sharper  turn  until,  along  the  bottom,  the  rods  simply  lie  parallel;  that 
is,  the  rods  that  lie  along  the  middle  of  the  bottom  terminate  at  the 
heel,  while  those  from  the  sides  and  upper  end  are  continuous.  Around 
the  border  and  forming  a  brace  across 
the  upper  end  is  a  border  made  of  a 
bundle  of  rods  seizing  with  tough  bast 
or  split  root.  The  twigs  themselves 
project  upward,  an  inch  or  two  from 
this  brace,  and  are  not  fastened  off. 

Dr.  J.  W.  Hudson  says  that  the 
California  coast  Indians  above  San 
Francisco  Bay  do  not  suspend  the 
cradle  nor  completely  swaddle  the 
infant,  but  they  defend  the  base  in 
order  to  stand  the  apparatus  on  its 
lower  end.  To  this  peculiar  arrange- 
ment of  the  child  in  its  bed,  Dr. 
Hudson  thinks,  is  due  the  bodily 
form  of  the  people.  The  Sioux,  Algon 
quian,  and  other  interior  tribes  sub 
ject  to  long  journeys,  sudden  changes 
of  temperature,  and  rough  handling 
more  securely  swaddle  their  children. 
The  cradle  board  draws  the  cervical 
and  spinal  bones  nearer  the  same  line, 
flattens  the  dorsal  surface  (figs.  211,  212),  rounds  the  thoracic  muscles, 
and  represses  adiposity. 

Example  No.  21398  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  is  a  cradle  from 
Potter  Valley,  California,  of  willow  twigs  laid  closely  together  and  held 
in  place  by  an  ingenious  weaving  to  be  explained  further  on. 

The  head  of  the  cradle  is  a  hoop  of  wood,  1  foot  in  diameter,  quite 
open.  It  is  fastened  to  the  wickerwork  by  a  continuous  coil  of  twine 
passing  around  it  and  between  the  willow  rods  consecutively,  being 
caught  over  the  curious  braid  that  holds  the  twigs  together.  In  the 
example  described  the  lashing  is  of  cotton  string,  but  in  a  more  primi- 
tive form  it  would  be  of  hemp  or  grass  cord.  The  ends  of  the  warp 
twigs  are  cut  oft'  flush  with  the  hoop.  The  sides  and  bottom  of  the 


Fig.  212. 

YOKAIA  WOMAN  CABHY1NQ  CHILD. 
From  a  photograph  in  the  U.  S.  National  Mu»eu 


522  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

cradle  are  scoop-shaped  with  high  perpendicular  sides,  the  twigs  form 
ing  it  all  terminating  at  the  head  hoop. 

The  rods  of  the  cradle  frame  are  held  together  by  a  series  of  braids 
about  2  inches  apart.  This  braid  is  so  constructed  of  a  single  string 
as  to  resemble  two  rows  of  coiled  sewing  on  the  inside  and  a  close 
double  herringbone  on  the  outside,  and  is  made  as  follows:  Commence 
at  one  edge  of  the  fabric  and  carry  the  twine  along  three  osiers  and 
down  through  the  warp,  bring  it  back  two  and  through  to  the  front, 
forward  three,  crossing  11  umber  one;  through  and  back  two,  and 
through  to  the  front,  one  rod  ahead.  Repeat  this  over  and  over,  for- 
ward three,  back  two,  forward  three,  back  two,  ready  to  start  again. 

Long  leather  loops  are  attached  to  the  bottom  of  the  cradle  where  it 
joins  the  upright  sides,  to  receive  the  lacing  string  which  holds  the 
baby  in  place. 

Example  No.  21398  is  a  Porno  cradle,  collected  by  Stephen  Powers, 
and  there  are  similar  specimens  from  the  Concow  and  other  tribes  on 
the  Pacific  drainage  between  Cape  Mendocino  and  San  Francisco.  In 
this  peculiar  type  the  climax  of  the  free  feet  is  reached.  Dr.  Hudson, 
who  has  studied  carefully  the  forms  and  types  of  basketry  in  the 
region,  presents  a  picture  of  the  child  fastened  in  the  frame,  and  Mr. 
J.  N.  Purcell  furnishes  the  accompanying  description : l 

This  is  the  baby-carrying  basket  used  by  most  of  the  tribes  of  the 
Pacific  Coast  from  Cape  Mendocino  to  San  Francisco  Bay.  Being  used 
by  them  for  carrying  and  nursing  purposes,  it  is  the  child's  almost  con- 
stant home  from  the  age  of  2  weeks  until  it  can  stand  alone;  even  then, 
when  the  mother  is  traveling,  the  child  is  carried  in  this  basket.  After 
having  been  dressed,  the  babe  is  set  or  laid  in  the  basket,  its  face  to 
the  opening,  the  buttock  resting  on  the  lower  part.  The  feet  hang  over 
the  outer  edge.  The  child  is  usually  wrapped  in  a  shawl,  which  comes 
down  over  its  feet. 

It  is  fastened  in  by  means  of  a  cord  or  small  rope  run  through  the 
buckskin  loops  attached  to  each  side  of  the  basket  and  wrapped  snugly 
around  and  around  the  body  of  the  child.  Commencing  at  the  breast, 
this  lacing  extends  to  about  6  inches  below  the  feet.  Thus  the  child  can 
not  throw  its  feet  about,  nor  can  it  fall  out,  for  the  six  loops  which  are 
run  through  with  cord  hold  it  securely  in  the  basket.  This  apparatus 
is  carried  on  the  mother's  back,  the  buckskin  strap  securely  fastened  on 
the  bottom  of  the  basket  and  passed  around  the  mother's  forehead  or 
breast.  Thus  the  cradle  rests  securely  upon  the  back  and  shoulders 
of  the  mother.  The  child's  face  is,  of  course,  out,  and  its  head,  neck, 
and  arms  free,  save  the  hoop  around  the  top  of  the  basket.  This  keeps 
the  head  from  injury.  The  small  ear-like  pieces  extending  above  the 
hoop  on  each  side  about  2  inches  are  for  the  purpose  of  fastening  a  veil 
or  covering  over  the  face  of  the  child.  This  is  only  done  when  the  sun 
is  shining  very  hot.  These  baskets  are  usually  made  of  ordinary  creek 


1  See  also  Rep.  SiuitliHouian  lust.  (U.  S.  Nat.  Mus.),  1887,  p.  182,  tig.  14. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


523 


willows, except  the  hoop  and  sometimes  the  two  outside  ribs,  which  are 
of  redbud  or  oak.  The  pieces  running  semicircular  around  from  one 
side  of  the  basket  to  the  other,  with  twine  wrapped  about  them,  are  of 
willow.  Instead  of  twine,  sinew  or  wire-grass  roots  are  most  often  used. 

Example  No.  19698  (fig.  188)  is  a  cradle  from  the  Tule  tribe.  The 
frame  consists  of  three  parts — the  foundation,  which  is  a  forked  stick; 
the  cross-bars,  lashed  beneath ;  and  the  slatof  twigs,  upon  which  the  bed 
is  laid.  Some  parts  of  this  frame  demand  description.  The  fork  is  a 
common  branched  limb,  not  necessarily  symmetrical,  \vith  short  handle, 
and  prongs  nearly  .'i  feet  long, 
spreading  about  1<>  inches  at  the 
distal  end  or  top. 

At  the  back  of  the  fork  are 
lashed  19  rods  of  \\ood  project- 
ing at  their  ends  an  inch  or  more 
beyond  the  fork.  The  lashing  of 
the  rods  to  the  fork  is  by  means 
of  sinew  skillfully  crossed  both 
in  front  and  rear — that  is,  the 
seizing  is  partly  parallel  and 
partly  cross-laced  to  give  the 
strongest  joint.  These  wooden 
rods  seem  to  follow  a  rude  plan  of 
pairs,  but  the  design  is  not  clear. 

The  slat- work  on  thfc  front  con 
sists  of  a  separate  transverse  rod 
to  which  about  40  twigs  are  at 
tached  by  bending  the  large  end 
of  each  one  around  the  rod  and 
then  holding  the  series  in  place 
by  a  row  or  two  of  twined  weav- 
ing with  split  twig.  To  fasten 
this  slat- work  in  place,  the  rod  is 
put  behind  the  two  outer  ends 
of  the  forked  stick  and  the  twigs 
laid  in  order  on  the  front  of  the  series  of  transverse  rods  so  as  to  till 
neatly  the  space  between  the  forks.  These  twigs  are  held  in  place  by 
lashing  them  here  and  there  to  the  transverse  rods  and  to  the  side 
prongs.  This  lashing  crosses  the  twigs  diagonally  in  front  and  the  rods 
behind  vertically.1 

'  Upon  this  cradle  rack  or  frame  is  fastened  the  true  cradle,  which  in 
this  instance  is  a  strip  of  coarse  mat  made  of  soft  flags,  1  foot  wide, 
joined  by  crossrows  of  twined  weaving  "2  inches  apart.  This  mat  is 
bordered  by  a  braid  of  flags,  and  the  two  ends  are  puckered  or  drawn 


Fig.  213. 

TOKAIA  WOMAN  CARRYING  CHILD. 

From  photograph  in  f.  S.  National  Muneiiin  by  Mrs.  .1.  \V.  llml*oii. 


1  By  a  misprint  in  a  former  paper  the  name  Klumath  is  associated  with  this  speci- 
men.    Rep.  Smithsonian  lust.  (U.  3.  Nat.  Mus.),  1887,  p.  180,  fig.  1:.'. 


524 


REPORT    OP   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


to  a  point.  The  cradle  belongs  to  the  open,  unhooded  type  and  is  made 
by  doubling  the  matting  at  the  head  and  drawing  it  together  to  a  point 
at  the  foot.  The  edge  nearest  to  the  cradle  frame  is  joined  and  fas- 
tened to  the  frame,  while  the  outer  edge  is  allowed  to  flare  open.  In 
this  little  ark  of  flags  or  rushes  the  baby  is  placed. 

Having  escaped  from  the  scoop-like  half  seat,  half  cradle,  before 
described,  the  California  child  is  still  obliged  to  be  a  passenger.  It 
does  not  ride  pickaback,  as  the  Eskimo,  nor  on  the  shoulder,  as  do  the 
Caucasians,  nor  on  the  arm,  as  often  seen  in  Africa;  but  it  straddles 

the  mother's  hips  and  is  held  se- 
cure by  her  shawl  or  girdle  (fig. 
213),  recalling  rather  the  infants  of 
Japan  and  thereabout. 

Example  No.  24146  in  the  U.  S. 
National  Museum  is  from  the  Mo- 
have,  in  southern  California  and 
Arizona.  The  frame  of  this  cradle 
is  a  prettily  made  ladder  or  trellis, 
built  up  as  follows:  A  pole  of 
hard  wood  about  7  feet  long  is 
bent  in  shape  of  an  oxbow,  the 
sides  7  inches  apart  at  top  and 
5£  inches  at  bottom,  so  that  the 
cradle  is  a  little  narrower  at 
the  foot.  Eleven  cross  bars, 
like  ladder  rounds,  connect  and 
strengthen  the  frame,  commenc- 
ing at  the  bottom  and  ending 
near  the  bow.  These  rounds  con- 
sist each  of  three  elements — a 
rod  or  spreader  between  the  two 
sides;  a  strap-like  binding  of  two 
or  three  split  twigs  clasping  the 
sides  and  laid  along  on  the 
spreader;  a  seizing  of  tough 
twig  holding  fast  the  straps  and 
spreader.  The  drawing  of  the  reverse  side  clearly  sets  forth  the  man- 
ner of  administering  this  light  but  strong  cross  bracing  (fig.  214). 

Upon  this  ladder  is  laid  the  cradle  bed  of  willow  or  mezquite  bast, 
made  as  follows:  Three  bundles  of  stripped  bast,  each  about  an  inch  in 
diameter,  are  lashed  at  their  middle  with  the  same  material.  They  are 
then  doubled  together  concentrically  and  spread  out  to  form  a  bed. 
On  this  is  laid  a  little  loose  finely- shredded  bast,  like  a  nest,  and  the 
bed  is  ready  for  the  baby. 

A  dainty  quilt  or  counterpane  of  bast  is  made  from  strips  30  inches 
long,  doubled  and  braided  at  the  top  like  a  cincture.  This  braiding  is 


Fig.  214. 

MOHAVE  TBELL18  CRADLE  AND  BED. 

Cat.  No.  24146,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Edward  Pa 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND   TRANSPORTATION. 


525 


unique  and  so  very  neatly  done  as  to  demand  explanation.  Two  strips 
of  bast  are  seized  about  their  middle  by  a  single  twist  of  the  two  ele- 
ments of  twined  weaving.  Of  course,  two  halves  will  project  above  and 
two  below  the  twist.  Lay  two  more  strips  of  bast  in  the  second  bight 
of  the  twist  and  draw  down  th«*  first  two  upper  ends,  one  to  the  right 
of  and  the  other  between  the  second  pair  of  strips,  seizing  them  in  place 
by  another  half  turn  of  the  twines.  Lay  on  a  third  pair  of  bast  strips 
and  bring  down  the  second  pair  of  ends  projecting  upward,  as  at  first. 
The  weaving  consists  of  four  movements,  namely:  Laying  in  a  pair  of 
bast  strips,  grasping  them. with  a  half  turn  of  the  two  twining  wefts, 
beijding  down  the  two  upward  strips  just 
preceding,  one  between,  the  other  outside  of 
the  last  two  strips,  and  grasping  them  with  a 
half  turn  of  twine. 

The  lashing  belts  of  this  cradle  are  12  to 
15  ply  braids  made  up  of  red,  green,  white, 
and  black  woolen  and  cotton  cords,  plaited 
after  the  manner  of  the  straws  in  hat  making. 
Special  attention  is  called  to  the  peculiar  type 
of  ornamentation  undesignedly  originated  by 
braiding  with  threads  of  different  colors.  On 
this  belt  of  several  colors  the  threads  are 
so  arranged  as  to  produce  a  continuous  scries 
of  similar  triangles,  filling  the  space  between 
two  parallel  lines  by  having  their  bases  above 
and  below  alternately.  Not  the  worst  of  the 
ornamentation  is  the  parallelism  of  the  braid- 
ing threads,  now  to  one  side  of  the  triangle 
and  in  the  next  figure  running  in  a  direction 
exactly  at  right  angles.  One  of  the  com- 
monest ornaments  on  pottery,  rude  stone, 
and  carved  wood  is  this  distribution  of  lines 
in  triangles. 

The  floor  of  the  Yaqui  cradle  (fig.  215)  is  of 
the  slatted  type,  30  inches  long.  A  dozen  or 
more  reeds,  such  as  arrow  shafts,  are  fastened 
in  the  same  plane  by  dowel  pins.  The  reeds 
are  not  bored  for  the  pins  but  simply  notched  in  a  primitive  fashion. 
There  is  no  cradle  trough,  but  a  bed  of  bast,  shredded,  is  laid  on  longi- 
tudinally. The  pillow  consists  of  a  bundle  of  little  splints  laid  on 
transversely,  at  either  end  of  which  is  a  pad  of  rags.  There  is  no 
awning,  and  the  lashing  material  in  this  instance  is  a  long  cotton  rag, 
taking  the  place  of  a  leather  strap,  passing  round  and  round  baby  and 
frame  and  fastened  off  in  a  martingale  arrangement  crossing  the  feet 
and  tied  to  the  lower  corners  of  the  cradle. 

When  a  I'ima  child  is  able  to  stand  alone,  the  mother  allows  it  to 


Fig.  215. 

CRADLE  FRAME    OP  REEDS,  USED  BY 

THE  YAQUI  INDIANS  OF  8ONORA. 
Cat.  No.  9396,  I  .  8.  N.  M.     Collected  hy  Ed- 
ward Palmer. 


526 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


mount  upon  the  immense  cinctures  of  bark  worn  on  her  back  and  to 
grasp  her  around  the  neck.  On  long  journeys,  says  Edward  Palmer, 
they  use  the  cradle  board. 

Leaving  the  Pacific  Slope  and  reverting  to  the  Great  Interior  Basin, 
the  Shoshonean  tribes  in  the  far  north  will  be  found  adapting  them- 
selves to  the  surrounding  Siouan,  Salishan,.and  Shahaptian  customs. 
They  are  on  the  drainage  of  the  great  Columbia  and  in  the  area  of 
buckskin.  For  the  most  part,  the  basis  of  all  Shoshonean  cradles  is  of 
twig,  a  kind  of  open  basketry  with  a  warp  of  rods  and  a  row  of  twined 
weaving  here  and  there.  Upon  this  grating  the  awning  is  built  up  for 

the  face.  Over  it  the  covering 
of  buckskin  is  stretched  and  to 
it  the  headband  is  attached  as  it 
is  to  the  universal  conical  pack- 
ing basket  of  the  same  culture 
area. 

Example  No.  128342  in  the 
U.  S.  National  Museum  (fig.  216) 
is  a  cradle  of  the  Uncompahgre 
Utes  collected,  with  others,  by 
Captain  Beckwith,  U.  S.  A.  It 
isbuiltupon  a  kite-shaped  board. 
Special  attention  is  called  to  the 
two  suspension  straps,  one  near 
the  top  for  hanging  in  the  cabin, 
the  other  lower  down  for  the 
woman's  forehead,  to  set  the 
load  well  up  on  the  back. 

Maj.  J.  W.  Powell  collected  a 
variety  of  Lite  cradle  frames  in 
his  early  explorations.  Example 
No.  14646,  from  the  Colorado 
Utes,  is  shown  in  three  views. 
The  frame  is  based  on  a  dozen  or  more  twigs,  without  bark,  laid  par- 
allel. Underneath  these  is  laid  an  ellipsoidal  hoop,  spread  a  little  way 
beyond  the  rod  at  the  sides.  A  stick  is  laid  across  under  the  rods  and 
is  fastened  at  its  ends  to  the  hoop  and  also  to  the  rods  by  the  wrapping 
of  a  filament.  Two  or  three  rows  of  twined  weaving  hold  the  rods  in 
place  at  intervals.  Over  the  frame  a  dainty  awning  is  built  and  a  cov- 
ering of  beautiful  white  buckskin  incloses  all.  The  carrying  band  is 
attached  to  the  crossbar  and  goes  over  the  forehead  of  the  mother. 

Example  No.  14646  (tig.  217)  is  a  cradle  of  the  Utes  of  southern  Utah. 
This  cradle  has  the  oxbow  frame  lathed  along  the  back  with  twigs  close 
together  and  held  in  place  by  a  continuous  seizing  of  sinew.  It  is  a 
rude  affair,  but  this  is  evidently  due  to  the  lack  of  material  in  a  desert 
country  rather  than  to  want  of  taste  in  the  makei .  The  awning  for  the 


Fig.  21 6. 
UTB  CRADLE. 

The  frame  is  made  of  sticks  covered  with  buckskin. 

Cat.  No.  128342,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Captain  Beckwith,  U.  S.  A. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


527 


face  is  a  band  of  basketry,  4  inches  wide,  attached  by  its  ends  to  the 
side  frame  of  the  cradle.  This  band  is  of  twined  weaving,  the  weft 
running  boustrophedon.  Notice  especially  that  each  half  turn  of  the 
twine  includes  two  warp  twigs  and  that  when  the  weaver  turned  back- 
ward she  did  not  inclose  the  same  pairs  of  warp  twigs,  but  twined  them 
in  qninconoially,  creating  a  mass  of  elongated  rhomboidal  openings, 
exactly  as  the  Aleutian  Islanders  weave  their  inarvelously  fine  grass 
wallets,  while  the  lite  weaving  is  a  model  of  coarseness  in  an  identical 
technique  with  unaccommodating  material.  The  headband  of  buckskin 


Fig.  217. 

UTE  CRADLE. 

The  frame  is  of  rods  covered  with  buckskin. 

("at.  No.  14646,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Maj.  J.  W.  Powell. 


is  not  tied  immediately  to  the  bowed  frame,  but  is  knotted  to  a  loop 
made  of  a  narrow  string  wound  three  times  around  the  frame  and 
knotted. 

Pyramid  Lake,  Nevada,  is  on  the  border  of  California  and  adjoining 
to  the  Palaihnihan  or  Achomawi  and  Pujunan  families  of  the  last 
named  States.  Examples  Nos.  19040  and  7C734  (fig.  218)  are  from  the 
Nevada  Utes. 

When  the  Ute  babe  leaves  its  swaddling  frame,  and  before  it  comes 


528 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


to  be  entirely  independent,  it  passes  an  intermediate  stage,  like  t  he 
opossum,  in  an  open  sack.  In  this  case  the  mother  puts  her  shawl  or 
robe  about  her.  straps  her  bandolier  around  over  one  arm  and  under 
the  other,  and  the  young  passenger  has  an  apartment  below  which  it 
can  not  go.  Example  No.  152252  (fig.  219)  shows  the  Ute  mother  carry- 
ing a  2-year-old  child. 

The  cradles  of  the  cliff  dwellers  were  made  in  the  shape  of  an  ellipse, 
constricted  slightly  at  the  sides.  Small  reeds  or  twigs  were  laid  side 
by  side  lengthwise  and  on  top  of  these  crosswise,  as  in  African  shields 


Fig.  218. 

(•BAULKS  OF  NEVADA   UTES,   SHOEING  G'ALIFOHNIAN  INFLUENCE. 
Cat.  Nos.  19040  and  76734,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Nevada  exhibit,  New  Orleans  Exposition. 


On  one  side  the  sticks  run  up  and  down ;  on  the  other  side  they  run 
crosswise.  The  two  sets  are  held  together  by  weaving  in  geometric 
patterns.  On  some  of  these  cradles  the  hood  is  still  preserved. 

Example  No.  21523  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  (fig.  220)  is  a  very 
elaborate  Apache  cradle,  the  substantial  part  consisting  of  the  frame 
and  the  hood.  The  frame  is  elliptical  in  outline,  being  formed  by  a 
pole  of  wood  bent  and  the  two  ends  spliced  and  lashed.  Upon  this 
ellipse  are  laid  laths  of  pine,  planed.  Over  the  child's  face  is  built 
the  hood  formed  by  bending  two  bows  of  supple  wood  to  the  required 
shape  and  overlaying  them  with  transverse  laths  of  pine  laid  close 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


529 


together  and  tied  dowii.  The  upper  edges  of  these  laths  are  beveled, 
so  as  to  give  a  pretty  ett'ect  to  the  curved  surface.  The  leather  work 
on  the  cradle  consists  of  a  crown  of  white  buckskin  to  the  hood,  a 
binding  of  brown  buckskin  to  the  bowed  frame  above  the  hood  varie- 
gated with  narrow  bands  of  white  buckskin,  and  finally,  the  true  sides 
or  capsule  of  the  cradle,  consisting  of  a  strip  of  soft,  brown  buckskin, 
say  10  inches  wide,  cut  in  a  fringe  along  its  lower  border  and  edged 
with  fringe  of  white  buckskin  along  its  upper  outer  edge.  This  strip 


Fig.  219. 

UTK  SQUAW  CARRYING  CHILD. 

i  a  photof  rxph  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum. 


is  fastened  to  the  cradle  continuously,  commencing  at  an  upper  margin 
of  the  awning,  carried  along  this  awning,  fastened  to  its  lower  margin 
4  inches  above  the  junction  of  awning  and  frame,  passing  on  to  the  foot 
and  around  to  the  other  side  as  at  first.  Slits  are  made  in  the  upper 
edge  of  the  brown  buckskin  just  below  where  the  white  buckskin 
fringe  is  sewed  or  run  on,  and  back  and  forward  through  these  slits  a 
broad,  soft  band  of  buckskin  passes  to  form  the  cradle  lathing.  To 
perfect  the  ornamentation  of  this  beautiful  object,  tassels  of  buckskin 
H.  Mis.  90,  pt.  2 34 


530 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1894. 


in  two  colors  and  strings  of  red,  white,  and  blue  beads  are  disposed  with 
great  taste. 

A  simpler  form  of  cradle,  based,  however,  upon  the  elongated  hoop,  is 
shown  in  fig.  221,  introduced  here  to  illustrate  all  the  details  involved, 
to  wit,  the  method  of  wearing  the  headband,  the  function  of  the  awning 
as  a  cover  and  a  place  for  toys,  the  border  loops  as  on  the  margin  of  a 
sandal,  the  cross  lacing,  the  free  feet  in  accordance  with  the  widespread 
west  coast  and  northern  habit,  the  modern  style  of  wearing  the  blanket, 


Fig.  220. 

APACHE  SLAT  CRADLE,    WITH  HOOD. 
Cat.  No.  21523,  U.  S.  N.  M.      Collected  by  Dr.  J.  B.  White,  U.  S.  A. 


the  moccasins  of  the  mother  soled  and  having  a  protection  against 
thorns  in  front,  and,  finally,  her  leggings,  each  one  made  of  an  entire 
deerskin. 

The  Navajo  cradle,  No.  127615,  and  the  one  with  which  it  is  compared 
(figs.  222  and  223),  are  bnilt  upon  two  strips  of  thin  board,  each  pointed 
at  the  top,  after  the  manner  of  the  Indians  on  the  plains.  The  awning  of 
splint  bows  in  figure  222  is  suggestive  of  the  buggy  top  awning  affected 
by  the  Zufii  Indians.  This  and  many  other  introduced  elements  make 
it  very  difficult  to  discriminate  what  is  truly  aboriginal  from,  what  is  not. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


531 


The  packing,  the  lacing1,  the  bedding,  the  pillow,  and  the  headband 
are  characteristic  of  the  region.  The  cover  or  spread  of  buckskin  and 
the  foot  rest  are  not  so  common.  The  former  is  of  the  north  or  of 
elevated  and  cool  regions;  the  latter  has  a  distribution  not  worked  out. 
It  will  be  seen  on  Iroquoian  and  other  eastern  forms,  and  on  a  Pitt 
River  cradle  from  California,  example  No.  21411,  figured  upside  down 
in  the  U.  8.  National  Museum  Report  of  1887,  page  180.  This  cradle  of 
the  Navajo  Indians  resembles  the  same  article  made  by  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tain tribes.  It  includes  the  flat  board  to  support  the  vertebral  column 
of  the  infant,  with  a  layer  of  blankets  and  soft  wadding  to  give  ease  to 
the  position,  having  the  edges  of  the  frame 
work  ornamented  with  leather  fringe.  Around 
and  over  the  head  of  the  child,  who  is  strapped 
to  this  plane,  is  an  ornamented  hoop,  to  pro- 
tect the  face  and  cranium  from  accident.  A 
leather  strap  is  attached  to  the  vertebral  frame 
work  to  enable  the  mother  to  sling  it  on  her 
back.1 

The  Zufii  use  a  simple  cradle  board  with 
parallel  sides  and  the  top  either  cut  semicir- 
cular or  notched  in  gradines  in  imitation  of  a 
kind  of  ornament  much  affected  by  these  peo- 
ple in  their  decoration.  Holes  are  bored  along 
the  sides  for  lashings  and  carrying  strap.  A 
block  pillow,  identical  in  form  with  the  pillow 
blocks  of  many  European  peoples,  performs  the 
functions  of  a  head  rest  and  of  a  cleat  There 
are  many  examples  in  the  U.  S.  National  Mu- 
seum, of  which  Nos.  41184  and  69015  are  types. 

The  elements  of  the  Moki  cradle  frame,  ex- 
ample No.  23154  in  thell.  S.  National  Museum 
(fig.  224),  are  the  floor  and  the  awning.  The 
floor  is  of  the  oxbow  type,  having  the  bow  at 
the  foot  and  the  loose  ends  projecting  upward 
as  in  the  Yokaia  and  other  California  frames. 
The  Moki  are  the  only  savages  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  known  to  the  writer  who  make  real  wicker  basketry. 
This  cradle  frame  is  covered  with  wicker  of  unbarked  twigs,  four  rows 
on  the  floor  and  four  on  the  awning.  The  warp  of  the  floor  is  formed  of 
series  having  two  twigs  each.  There  is  a  great  variety  in  the  delicacy, 
the  number  of  warp  strands,  and  the  minor  details  in  the  Moki  cradle 
floors.  Indeed,  while  they  are  all  alike  in  general  marks,  there  are  no 
two  alike  in  respect  to  patterns.  The  awning  is  still  more  varied. 
Fundamentally  it  is  a  band  of  wicker  basketry  longer  than  the  cradle  is 
wide,  its  ends  securely  fastened  to  the  frame  sides  by  lashings  of  yucca 


Fig.  221. 

APACHE  SQUAW  CARRYING  CHILD. 

From  a  photi«raph  in  the  U.  S.  National 

Museum,  by  A.  Frank  Randall 


'  Si-]iiMili-r;ift'H  Arcliivrs,  i\  .  |ip.  l35-43ti;  also  Bancroft's  Native  liuces,  I,  p. 


532 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


fiber  or  string.  Here  and  there  stitches  are  omitted  so  as  to  effect  an 
openwork  ornamentation.  An  additional  strip  frequently  passes  at 
right  from  the  apex  of  the  awning  at  the  upper  edge  to  the  floor  of  the 
frame  at  its  upper  end.  (Fig.  225.) 

The  Quich6  mother  in  Guatemala  carries  her  babe  on  her  back  while 
she  is  at  work  and  rocks  it  in  a  hammock  while  it  is  asleep. 

The  Muso  and  Colima,  on  the  Magdalena,  in  Colombia,  formerly  laid 
their  children  in  cradles  made  of  reeds,  just  big  enough  to  contain  that 


Fig.  222. 

NAVAJO  CRADLE  BOARD. 

From  a  figure  in  the  Report  of  the  Smithsonian  In 
dilution  (U.  S.  National  Museum),  1887. 


Fig.  223. 

COMPLETE    NAVAJO    CRADLE,   WITH    HOOD  AND 

BUCKSKIN  AWNING. 

Cat.  No.  127615,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Dr.  R.  W.  Shu- 
feldt,  U.  S.  A. 


little  body,  binding  their  wrists  and  the  brawny  parts  of  the  arms,  as 
also  their  legs  at  the  ankles  and  the  calves,  placing  them  with  the  head 
downward,  and  the  feet  up,  the  cradle  resting  against  a  wall  stooping, 
that  their  heads  might  grow  hard  and  round.1  Leaving  out  the  last 
interpretation,  it  is  certain  that  the  Muso  infant  was  laid  in  a  little 
trough  of  reeds,  which  should  be  compared  with  those  cradles  made  of 
a  bit  of  skin  rolled  up  and  with  the  cylindroid  cradles  of  wood  in 


Antonio  de  Herrera,  "History  of  America,"  vi,  p.  183. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL   AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


533 


Siberia.    The  binding  of  the  whole  body,  feet  and  all,  in  this  region  is 
interesting. 

The  Peruvians  of  old,  it  is  said,  used  cradles  of  textile,  not  unlike 
those  of  California,  but  the  Patagonians  seeni  to  be  the  only  South 
Americans  that  actually  strap  their  babies  to  a  frame.  On  the  pottery 
of  Peru,  children  are  seen  lying  in  the  lap,  riding  astride  the  neck,  and 
sitting  on  the  shoulder,  but  not  fastened  in  cradles. 

Wiener  figures  a  barefooted  woman  at  An  day  mayo,  Peru,  with   her 
child  in  a  sash  which  passes  around  her  waist  and  over  the  right 
shoulder.    Both  hands  are  active  in 
i-arrying  objects.1 

This  fact  should  be  considered  in 
connection  with  the  custom  in  the 
Tropics  of  wearing  the  infant  al><nit 
the  naked  body  by  the  mother.  <  >n 
reaching  elevated  ground  the  cradle 
frame  does  not  immediately  appear, 
but  the  shawl  or  other  garment  be- 
comes more  and  more  the  nesting 
place  of  the  tiny  passenger.  Custom 
and  climate  play  upon  each  other  at 
every  turn,  and  the  typical  plan  is 
apparent  at  each.2  But  cradles  did 
exist,  made  of  reeds  as  shown,  along 
the  Cordilleras. 

The  Aymara  Indian  women  of 
Taiapaca  wear  a  long  cotton  gar- 
ment, over  which  is  a  woolen  dress, 
then  a  long  mantle  fastened  by  tupus 
or  pins  of  silver,  a  long  waistband, 
then  thefemale  poncho  in  which  they 
carry  their  children  behind  them.11 

The  Araucauian  infant  is  rolled  up 
in  bandages  and  put  into  a  cradle 
frame  which  may  be  carried  about 
by  the  mother  or  hung  to  a  peg 
driven  into  the  walls  of  the  house 
or  laid  in  baskets  suspended  from 
the  roof  so  that  they  can  be  swung  by  a  cord  tied  to  the  cradle.4 

The  Araucanian  woman  is  often  figured  in  the  role  of  both  passenger 
carrier  and  burden  carrier  (fig.  226).  The  child  is  laced  on  a  rack  and 
borne  on  the  back  by  means  of  a  headband.  At  the  same  time  any 
amount  of  provisions  maybe  stored  in  a  netted  bag  suspended  from  the 

1  P<Srou  et  Bolivie,  p.  180. 

8  Excellent  figure  in  Wiener's  "  Pdron  et  Bolivie,"  p.  395.     The  infant  is  snugly 
wrapped  in  a  shawl  tied  across  the  mother's  clavicles. 
3W.  Bollaert,  "Ethnology  of  South  America,"  p.  250. 
«Wood,  "Uncivilized  Races,''  Hartford,  n,  p.  546. 


Fig.  224. 

MOKI  WICKEB  CBADLK  WITH  AWNING. 

Tusayan,  Arizona. 

C»t.  No.  23164,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Haj.  J.  W.  Pi  well 
In  the  smaller  fifure  the  awning  if  over  the  bowed  end. 


534 


REPORT    OP    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


shoulder  by  a  bandolier.  She  carries  her  baby  in  a  sitting  posture;  so 
do  the  Californian  women,  as  opposed  to  the  others  whose  children  are 
prone  in  the  frame.  The  Araucanian  frame  resembles  in  make-up  that 
used  by  the  Aino  porter.  It  is  worthy  of  inquiry  whether  the  intro- 
duction of  the  horse  into  this  region  occasioned  the  rigid  frame. 

According  to  J.  G.  Wood,  quoting  Captain  Bourne,  the  children  of 
the  Patagonians  are  laid  in  a  square  piece  of  guanaco  skin,  hung  ham- 
mockwise  by  four  ends  to  the  rafters  of  the  hut.  During  the  daytime 
infants  are  packed  in  cradles  made  of  pieces  of  board,  between  two 
pieces  of  guanaco  skin.  When  the  family  is  shifting  quarters,  the 

cradle  is  hung  on  the  saddlebow  of  the 
mother's  horse. 

Bourne  says  that  the  papooses  of  the 
Indians  of  Patagonia,  in  traveling,  are 
lashed  to  a  kind  of  wooden  sledge, 
rounded  at  the  ends  like  sleigh  run- 
ners, and  crossed  with  narrow  slats 
that  bind  the  parts  strongly  together. 
The  little  ones  are  bound  upon  these 
machines,  which  are  so  shaped  that 
their  heads  and  feet  are  much  below 
the  general  level  of  their  bodies — a 
very  uncomfortable  position  for  the 
youngsters,  if  they  have  as  much  sen- 
sibility to  pain  as  other  children,  of 
which  there  is  much  doubt,  as  they 
are  inured  from  birth  to  almost  every 
species  of  hardship.  The  sledge,  with 
its  living  burden,  is  thrown  across  the 
horse's  back,  and  made  fast  to  the  load.1 
In  Paraguay  the  cradle  frame  re- 
appears after  having  passed  out  of 
sight  throughout  the  entire  tropical 
area.  A  hammock  for  little  children 
is  made  of  a  hoop  inclosing  a  net  and 
supported  by  three  short  lines  united  as  in  a  pair  of  scales  and  attached 
to  a  long  line  suspended  from  the  roof. 

The  Indians  of  the  Gran  Chaco  are  expert  swimmers.  Of  their 
movements  across  a  stream,  Wood  says  that  they,  with  one  hand,  guide 
the  horse,  or  hold  to  the  spear  with  its  light  burden,  and  with  the 
other  paddle  themselves  across.  The  children  and  goods  are  conveyed 
111  square  boats  or  pelotas  made  of  hide  and  towed  by  a  rope  tied  to 
the  tail  of  a  horse  or  held  in  the  mouth  of  a  good  swimmer.2 
In  comparison  with  the  carrying  frame  of  Guatemala  should  be 


Fig.  225. 

MOKI  CEADLE-FKAME  FBOM  TUSAYAN,  ABIZONA. 
Cat.  No.  1 1789,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Maj.  J.  W.  Powell. 


1  Bourne,  "Captive  m  Patagonia,"  Boston,  1853,  p.  82;  illustrated. 
Wood,  "  Uncivilized  Races,"  Hartford,  n,  p.  572. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


535 


studied  a  frame  from  Guiana,  called  a  cradle  by  J.  G.  Wood.  It  is  in 
form  of  a  scoop  inverted,  made  of  the  split  reed  so  common  in  the 
Oarib  art.  The  part  nearest  the  carrier's  back  is  widest,  and  the  frame 
sticks  project  conveniently  for  the  headband.1 

Ratzel  figures  a  bout-shaped  cradle  used  by  Brazilian  Indians,  with 


Fig.  226. 

ARAUCANIAN  WOMAN  CARRYING  CHILD  AND  PROVISIONS. 

Krom  Simon  •.{••  S,  hr.vv.-r'*  "  Roymmir  d'Arnucanie-Patiigonie." 

apparatus  for  flattening:  the  head,  but  there  is  not  the  slightest  inti- 
mation of  carrying  it.2 

In  all  pictures  an<l  descriptions  of  carrying  children  in  Central 
Brazil  no  cradle  is  seen  whatever.  The  naked  child  rides  on  the 
mother's  hip  or  shoulder  and  may  be  clasped  in  the  arms.  Or  again 
it  will  be  seen  astride  her  neck,  precisely  as  appears  in  the  pictures  of 
the  Eskimo.3 

»Wood,  "Uncivilized  Races,"  Hartford,  n,  p.  609,  with  figure. 
*"Volkerkunde,"  n,  p.  622. 

3  von  den  Steinen.  "Unter  den  Natnrvolkern  Zentral-BrasilienK,"  pi.  ix,  p.  112;  also 
Fletcher  and  Kidder,  "Bra/il  and  the  Brazilians,"  Philadelphia,  1857,  p.  472. 


536  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

CRADLES  AND  CRADLE-FRAMES  IN  THE  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM. 


Museum 
No. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

167899 

Finland    

150768 

Carrier,  baby  

32986 

Cradle,  toy  

E  W  Nelson 

8894 

do  

St.  Lawrence  River  

Dr.  F.  B.  Hough. 

18806 

Frame,  carved  aiid  painted  

St.  Regis,  N.Y  

Do. 

18828 

Frame,  carved  and  painted  

do  

Do. 

18829 

Frame,  carved  and  painted  beaded  . 

do  

Do. 

73311 

Cradle,  model  probably  Sioux 

Dakota  

Catlin  collection. 

73312-73313 

Cradle,  probably  Sioux  

.  .    do  .             

Do. 

169069 
58607 

Cradle,  Kiowa  Indians  
Cradle,  bead  work,  South  Cheyenne  . 

Indian  Territory  
do  

Jas.  Mooney. 
CoLR.  J.  Dodge,  U.  S.  A. 

152804 

Cradle,  Cheyenne  Indians  

do  

Jas.  Mooney. 

165836 

Cradle,  beaded,  Cheyenne  Indians. 

do  

Voth  collection. 

153596 

Cradle,  Arapahoe  Indians  

Oklahoma 

Capt.  R.  H.  Pratt.U.  S.  A. 

165774 

Cradle,  porcupine-quilled,    Arap- 

do  

Voth  collection. 

152944 

aho. 

6918 

Cradle,  Comanche  Indians  

do  

Edward  Palmer. 

6970 

Skin  bed,  child's  Comanche. 

.do 

Do. 

73333 
8027 

Frame  for  cradle,  Haida  Indians.  .  . 
Cradle  model,  Nez  Perce  Indians.  . 

Queen  Charlotte  Island  . 
Idaho  

Catlin  collection. 
Dr.  E.  Storror,  U.  S.  A. 

129675 

Cradle  Spokane  Indians  

^ATa8hington 

Mrs.  A.  C.  McBeau. 

1043-1044 

Cradles,  Makah  Indians  

do  

J.  G.  Swan. 

5366 

Cradle,  model  

do  

George  Gibbs. 

153548 

Cradle  Chinook  Indians  

...    do                       

Dr.  Franz  Boas. 

1757 
2574-2575 
127616 

Cradle  board  
Cradle,  models  
Cradle,  model,  twined  basketry  .   . 

Columbia  River  
Oregon  
do  

Maj.Osborn  Cross,U.S.A. 
Lieut.  Wilkes,  U.  S.  N. 
Mrs.  J.  O.  Dorsey.      . 

21337 
21411 

Papoose     basket,      with    shade, 
Hupa  Indians. 
do  

Trinity  River,  Califor- 
nia. 
Pitt  River,  California 

Stephen  Powers. 
Do. 

165679-165680 

Papoose  basket,  Porno  Indians 

California  

Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

167321 

.do  . 

L.  L.  Frost. 

131109 

do 

do 

N  J.Purcell. 

19617 
150401 
168398 

168416 

Basket,  papoose,  model  
Cradle,  Sac  and  Fox  Indians  
Cradle,  baby  dressed,  Kiowa  In- 
dians. 
Cradle,  doll's,  beaded  

Colorado  
Ind.  Territory  
Haworth  collection  

do  

Stephen  Powers. 
Frederick  Starr. 
"World's  Columbian  Ex- 
position. 
Do. 

164811 

Pine  Ridge  Agency  

Miss  E.  C.  Sickels. 

154361 

Dr.  "W.  J.  Hoifman. 

152945-152946 

Jas.  Mooney. 

152947-152949 

do  

do  

Do. 

21398 

Potter  Valley.California 

Stephen  Powers. 

19697 

Tule  Liver,  California  .. 

Do. 

19698 

Basket,  papoose  

do  

Do. 

22290 
151898 

Board,  papoose,  Bannock  and  Sho- 
sl  IDII  !•  Indians. 

Fort  Hall  Agency,  Idaho 
Idaho  

Wm.  H.  Danilson. 
Capt.  Jno.  G.  Bourke, 

19040 
10741 

Cradle,  papoose  

Nevada'  

U.  S.  A. 
Stephen  Powers. 
Maj.  J.  W.  Powell. 

10796 

do  

Do. 

10797 

Frame,  oauoosc.  Ute  Indiana  .  .  . 

...do  ... 

Do. 

PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  537 

CRADLES  AND  CRADLE-FRAMES  IN  THE  U.  S.'  NATIONAL  MUSEUM — Continued. 


Museum 
No. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

19614 

Basket,  papoose,  McCloud   River 

Colorado  

Livingston  Stone. 

11222-11223 
11909-11912 

Indians. 
Cradle,  papoose,  Moki  Indians  
Cradle,  Pai  I'tes    

N.E.  Arizona  

Maj.J.  W.PowelL 
Do. 

14643-14646 

do  

do  

Do. 

14647 

Cradle,  toy  Pai  Ftes  

do  

Do. 

76732-76734 

Cradles  (3)   Pai  Utes  

Nevada      

128342 

do  

from  Nevada  State  Ex- 
hibit, 
Capt.  Beckwith 

152564 

Utah                           

11789 

Cradle  and  doll  Moki  Indians  

Oraibi,  Arizona  

Maj.  J.  W.  Powell 

166788 

Northern  California  .... 

Do. 

166813 

Cradle,  toy,  Hupa  Indians  

do  1  

Do. 

166884 

do  

Do 

40073 

Cradle  papoose,  Zufii  

do  

F.  H.  Gushing. 

41184-41187 

do     

152489 

Cradle,  Mohave  Indians  

do  

Geo.  A.  A  1  Ifii 

27834 

do                   

Mrs.  G.  Stout 

174438 

...  do 

"W  J  McGee 

23134 

Cradle,  toy,  Moki  Indians  

Northeastern  Arizona.  . 

Ma,j.  J.  W.  Powell. 

23148 

do   

.    do         

Do. 

41725 

Cradle,  toy,  Zuni  Indians  

..    do  

Col.  Jas.  Stevenson. 

41985-41986 

Cradle,    basket-work     with    top 

New  Mexico  ............ 

Do. 

41987 

Moki  Indians. 

do  

Do. 

41988 

...  do  

Do. 

70957-70958 

Cradle  toy  Moki  Indians          ... 

Do. 

70959-70961 

do     

Do. 

84111 

dians. 
Cradle,  toy,  Moki  Indians  

New  Mexico  

V.  Mindeleff. 

166686 

do 

.do  

Jas.  Mooney. 

69391 

Cradle  doll's,  Zuni  Indians  

do  

Col.  Jas.  Stevenson. 

18766 

<  /radle,  portion  of  

Santa  Cruz  

P.  Schumacher. 

5566 

Cradle,  Apache  Indians  

Arizona  

Edward  Palmer. 

21523-21524 

...do  

Dr.  J.  B.  White 

151909 

dians. 
Cradle,  doll,  Apache  Indians 

do  

Capt.  Jno.  G    Bourke, 

9545 

Cradle,  Navajo  Indians  

New  Mexico  

tr.  s.  A. 

10.t39 

Basket,  for  papoo.su,  Mohave  In- 

California   

Do. 

24146 

dians. 
Cradle,  Mohave  Indians  

do  

Do. 

22545 

Cradle,  toy,  Moki  IndiauH  

Northeastern  Arizona. 

Maj.  J.  W.  Powell. 

MM 

127615 

Cradle,  Yaqui  Indians  
Cradle,  N"  ;  i  \  .  1  1  <  >  Ind  ians  

Souora,  Mexico  
Fort  Wingate  N  Mex 

Edward  Palmer. 
Dr     R     W     Shufeldt, 

130650 

Cradle,  Yaqui  Indians  

Sonora  Mexico  

U.  8.  A. 

538 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


THE    CARRYING   OF   ADULTS. 

It  was  seen  in  the  foregoing  discussion  that  there  are  two  periods  in 
the  carrying  of  children  associated  with  two  distinct  types  of  activities: 

1.  The  period  of  helpless  infancy,  calling  for  bed,  swinging  or  rock- 
ing cradle,  and  carriage.     The  inventions  associated  with  this  period 
have  passed  through  a  wonderful  evolution  and  elaboration,  whose 
climax  is  all  modern  beds,  cradles,  baby  junipers,  walking  devices,  car- 
riages, and  the  great  array  of  pediatric  apparatus  for  the  deformed. 

2.  The  second  period  of  infancy  is  devoted  to  learning  the  act  of 
walking.     About  the  home  the  child  escapes  from  its  cradle  and  soon 
finds  itself  going  about.     The  mother,  however,  can  not  always  wait 
for  its  slow  locomotion  and  proceeds  to  carry  it  in  an  extremely  primi- 
tive fashion,  and  allows  it  to  mount  her  neck  or  back  or  hip  without  the 
aid  of  intervening  devices. 

In  the  earliest  periods  of  culture  or  artificiality  in  living,  there  were 
no  class  conditions  which  demanded  that  one  should  be  borne  upon  the 
backs  of  others  by  reason  of  rank. 

The  carrying  of  adults,  or  riding  on  human  backs,  was  not  in  primi- 
tive times  a  world-wide  enjoyment,  and  was  never  an  industry  until 
the  climax  of  the  hand  epoch  was  reached.  The  dead  were  borne  to 


Fig. 227. 

BIER  USED  BY  THE   SEMINOLE8  OP   FLORIDA. 
From  a  figure  .n  the  Fifth  A  nmial  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  F.thnoloiy. 

their  burial,  helpless  persons  were  assisted  from  the  fight,  and  those 
who  held  some  rank  were  carried  on  the  backs  or  shoulders  of  men. 
But  walking  was  the  order  of  the  day  prior  to  the  taming  of  the  rein- 
deer, camel,  ass,  horse,  ox,  and  elephant.  The  Semiuole  Indians  did 
not  double  up  the  corpse  for  burial,  but  laid  it  out  straight.  A  long 
pole  was  placed  above  the  body  and  securely  tied  thereto  by  bands  at 
the  neck,  the  middle,  and  the  leet.  Then  two  or  more  men  lifted  the 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


f)3!» 


pole  and  carried  the  dead  to  the  last  resting  place  (fig.  227).  The  single 
stick,  with  a  passenger  lying  or  sitting  in  a  hammock  beneath,  is  also 
the  simplest  form  of  carriage  for  the  living.  The  next  simplest  device 
for  bearing  the  living  has  for  its  manual  part  two  poles  instead  of  one. 
The  Japanese  use  one  pole,  the  Chinese  and  Koreans  use  two.  In  the 
Madeira  Islands  will  be  seen  the  single-pole  hammock  (tig.  228).  But 
the  double  pole  riding  chair  was  almost  universal  before  good  roads  and 
wheel  carriages  and  illuminated  cities.  It  existed  in  several  parts  of 
semicivilized  America.  The  U.  S.  National  Museum  possesses  an  exam 
pie  from  Madagascar.  The  Caucasian  subspecies  in  all  its  branches 
were  familiar  with  it,  and  it  was  only  a  century  ago,  when  streets  were 
lighted  at  night  sufficiently  for  carriages,  that  sedan  chairs  of  most 
costly  patterns  went  out  of  vogue. 

The  basterna  was  a  kind  of  litter  with  two  poles  or  shafts,  in  which 
women  were  carried  in  the  time  of  the  Roman  emperors.     It  resembled 


Fig.  228.  - 

HAMMOCK  CARRIAGE,   FROM  MADEIRA,  WITH  TWO   BEARERS. 

From  a  photograph  inth.-  I  .  R.  Nutiiuial  Muwiim. 

the  lectica,  or  common  litter,  and  the  sedan  chair,  only  the  latter  \va< 
carried  by  slaves  while  the  basterna  was  supported  by  two  mules,1  the 
shafts  running  through  stirrups  on  the  saddle  of  each. 

The  ordinary  bier  is  carried,  not  on  the  shoulders,  but  about  a  loot 
from  the  ground,  by  handles,  but  among  the  Maronites  and  other  Syrian 
Christians,  according  to  Tristram,  the  bier  is  borne  aloft  on  the 
uj (stretched  and  reversed  palms  of  a  crowd  of  bearers,  who  rapidly 
relieve  one  another  in  quick  succession.2  The  same  method  has  been 
mentioned  in  the  carrying  of  the  throne  chair  of  a  Persian  king  aloft 
on  the  palms  of  bearers/1 

The  body  of  an  Egyptian,  when  prepared  for  interment,  says  Lane, 


'Smith,  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities,  s.  v.  Jiaaterna,  with  woodcut. 
"Tristram,  "Eastern  Customs  in  Hible  Lands,"  London,  1894,  p.  98. 
3  Montfaucon,  L'Antiquite'  expliqu<?e,  Paris,  1722,  u,  p.  183. 


540  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

is  placed  in  the  bier,  which  is  usually  covered  over  with  a  red  or  other 
cashmere  shawl.  Three  or  four  friends  of  the  deceased  usually  carry  it 
for  a  short  distance;  then  three  or  four  other  friends  bear  it  a  little 
farther,  and  then  these  are  in  like  manner  relieved. 

The  biers  used  for  the  conveyance  of  the  corpses  of  females  and 
boys  are  different  from  those  of  men.  They  are  furnished  with  a  cover 
of  wood,  over  which  a  shawl  is  spread,  as  over  the  bier  of  a  man,  and 
at  the  head  is  an  upright  piece  of  wood,  called  a  shahid.  The  shahid 
is  covered  with  a  shawl,  and  to  the  upper  part  of  it,  when  the  bier  is 
used  to  convey  the  body  of  a  female  of  the  middle  or  higher  class, 
several  ornaments  of  female  headdress  are  attached.  On  the  top, 
which  is  flat  and  circular,  is  often  placed  a  ckoor's  (the  round  ornament 
of  gold  or  silver  set  with  diamonds,  or  of  embossed  gold,  which  is  worn 
on  the  crown  of  the  headdress) ;  to  the  back  is  suspended  the  suf 'a  (or 
a  number  of  braids  of  black  silk  with  gold  ornaments  along  each, 
which  are  worn  by  the  ladies,  in  addition  to  their  plaits  of  hair,  hang- 
ing down  the  back).  The  bier  of  a  boy  is  distinguished  by  a  turban, 
generally  formed  of  a  red  cashmere  shawl  wound  round  the  top  of  the 
shahid,  which,  in  the  case  of  a  young  boy,  is  also  often  decorated  with 
the  ckoor's  and  suf'a.  The  corpse  of  a  very  young  child  is  carried  to 
the  tomb  in  the  arms  of  a  man,  and  merely  covered  with  a  shawl,  or  in 
a  very  small  bier  borne  on  a  man's  head.1 

In  ancient  Egyptian  burial  and  religious  scenes  nothing  is  more  com- 
mon than  the  same  piece  of  furniture.  But  it  is  not  certain  that  the 
function  of  bearing  the  dead  thus  is  older  than  that  of  bearing  the  liv- 
ing, especially  royal  and  sacred  persons.  Assyrian  pictures  are  quite 
as  full  of  living  scenes  in  which  men  and  women  are  thus  borne. 2 

Example  No.  160156  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  (fig.  229)  is 
a  Chinese  carrying  chair  containing  a  great  many  separate  inven- 
tions worthy  of  special  notice.  It  is  made  of  bamboo  throughout, 
and  almost  without  the  use  of  pegs  or  lashings.  For  the  legs  and 
side  bars  of  the  seat  two  stout  bamboos  are  chamfered  out  at  the 
points  where  the  tops  of  the  legs  should  be,  these  gashes  being  as 
far  apart  as  the  width  of  the  seat.  The  legs  are  bent  down  at  right 
angles,  inclosing  in  the  chamfered  part  two  other  bamboos  which 
form  the  front  and  the  back  bar  of  the  seat.  A  few  inches  above  the 
floor  a  bamboo  is  fitted  snugly  about  the  legs  by  the  same  chamfering 
and  bending.  The  arm  post  and  stirrups  for  the  carrying  bar  on  each 
side  are  chamfered  and  bent  still  more  curiously.  One  piece  serves  as 
an  additional  side  bar,  as  an  arm  post,  and  is  then  chamfered  and 
bent  down  over  the  carrying  bars.  The  seat  above  the  lower  encircling 
bamboo  is  boxed  in  with  bamboo  splints.  The  back  is  quite  equal  in 
motif  to  the  Austrian  bent- wood  chair;  the  chamfering  and  bending, 
and  lashing  with  split  bamboo  and  inserting,  when  all  other  resources 


'Lane,  "Modern  Egyptians,"  London,  1846,  i,  pp. 288, 297. 
«Cf.  Erman,  "  Life  in  Ancient  Egypt,"  p.  65. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


541 


fail,  together  constitute  a  combination  which  is  about  as  far  as  the 
inventor  could  go  with  his  materials  and  his  tools. 

The  awning  frame  is  of  smaller  canes  bowed  at  the  top  and  so  con- 
structed that  the  vertical  rods  will  fit  snugly  on  the  carrying  bars. 

The  adjustable  foot  rest  is  a  luxury  built  on  in  the  same  fashion 
as  the  other  parts  are  made,  getting  the  best  strength  and  results  with 
the  least  material.  The  carrying  bars  are  movable,  and  when  stood  up 
in  the  corner  they  leave  the  passenger  in  his  easy  chair. 


Fig.  229. 

CHINESE  CARRYING-CHAIR  OF  BAMBOO. 
1601S6,  U  S.  N.  M.     Giftof  the  Chinese  Centennial  Comn 


As  in  other  arts,  so  in  that  represented  by  the  litter,  the  Japanese 
have  reached  the  acme  of  the  hand  epoch  in  carrying.  It  would  take 
the  student  too  far  away  from  primitive  methods  to  discuss  all  the 
varieties  of  apparatus  in  Japan  by  means  of  which  individuals  are 
borne  about.  In  brief,  there  are  two  types,  the  hammock  beneath  a  pole 
and  the  true  litter  inclosed.  The  two  words  "  kago"  and  "  uorimono"  are 
supposed  to  set  forth  these  two,  but  Mr.  Kota  Nakahara,  of  the  Japanese 
legation  in  Washington,  says  that  "there  is  not  very  much  difference 
between  the  words  kago  and  norimouo.  We  call  norimouo  almost 


542 


REPORT    OP    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


Fig.  230. 
KOREAN  CHAIR. 
i  figure  in  Carles'  "  Life  in  Korea. ' 


every  kind  of  kagos  and  jinriki  and  carriages  which  would  transport  us 
from  place  to  place,  and  call  kago  only  the  kind  of  kago  proper,  which 
resembles  the  litter.  It  is  thought  both  kago  and  norimono  are  what 
we  call  kago.  Of  course,  there  is  a  special  name  for  each  different  kago, 
and  those  names  are  va- 
ried according  to  the 
localities.  The  word 
norimono  is  the  name  for 
the  genus  and  kago  is 
for  the  species." 

The  Korean,  according 
to  Carles,  uses  a  rude 
form  of  chair  for  trav- 
elers not  differing  from 
the  Chinese  and  Japa- 
nese types.  The  officials 
are  borne  in  a  small  open 
chair,  without  legs,  fas- 
tened on  the  top  of  a  pair 
of  carrying  poles  united 
by  cross  bars,  like  a  bier 
without  legs.  Four  men, 
tandem,  walk  between  these  poles,  two  in  front  and  two  behind,  and 
hold  up  the  great  man  by  means  of  a  short  pole  to  each  pair  of  bearers. 
A  fifth  person  walks  at  the  side  to  steady  the  carriage  (fig.  231). 

The  carrying  of  persons  was  known  among  the  Muskhogean  tribes  in 

the  Southern  States  of 
the  Union.  The  gen- 
tleman of  Elvas  de- 
scribes the  ladie  of 
Cutifachiqui  as  com 
ing  out  of  the  town 
in  a  chair  whereon  cer- 
tain of  the  principal 
Indians  brought  her 
to  the  river.  The  pre- 
-^  cise  form  of  the  chair 
is  not  given,  to  enable 
us  to  decide  whether 
it  was  a  hammock  or 
swinging  bed  or  a 
litter  borne  by  four.1 

The  pottery  and  tapestries  of  Peru  show  persons  of  distinction  borne 
by  two,  not  in  a  chair  slung  between  the  poles,  but  in  a  chair  or  on  a 


Fig.  231. 


KORKAN  OFFICIAL   BORNE   OF   FOUR. 


inCarl«*'"Lifeiu  Korea 


.'"'Plie  Discovery  :md  Conquest  of  Terra  Florida,"  Publications  of  the  Hakluyt 
Society,  1851,  pp.  r><>,  <>7,  luU 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


543 


platform  quite  above  the  poles.1    Such  a  feat  is  impossible,  and  the 

omission  of  the  other  two  indispensable  carriers  or  a  second  pole  must 

be  due  to   ignorance  of 

perspective.     (Fig.  232.) 

In  this  connection  Katzel 

figures   a    curious    little 

image  from  Colombia  (fig. 

233),  in  which  the  head- 
band is  used  in  carrying 

a  man. 

"In  this  little  town  of 

the  New  World,"  (Santa 

Catharina,  Brazil),  says 

Langsdorflf,    "a    sort  of 

sedan    chair    is   used, 

called     cadeirinhas,     in 

which  the  rich  are  drawn 

in  state  by  their   negro 

slaves.   They  are  not  like 

our  sedan  chairs,  closed 

up  with  doors  and  glass 

windows,  but  rather  re- 
semble an  easy  chair  with 

a  high  back.  Theyhavea 

canopy,"  etc.2  (Fig.  234.) 
The  bier,  the  sedan,  and  the  litter  become  historically  the  travois  for 

dog  and  horse,  and  after  that  the  cart  and  the  carriage.     In  one  or  two 

places  in  the  world  the  carrying 
of  men  and  women  on  human 
hacks  survives.  This  is  especially 
true  in  mountains  where  there  an- 
no beasts  to  ride  and  two  or  more 
can  not  work  together.  In  such 
places  there  is  naught  to  do  but 
for  the  tough  and  profession 
al  carrier  to  take  his  passenger 
upon  his  back,  and  this  indeed  he 
does. 

In  the  Brockhaus  Atlas  of  Kth 
nography  (pi.    10)   will   be   seen   a 
Dyak   carrying   chair,  very  inter- 
esting  in    this    connection.      The 
Dyaks  are  in  the  habit  of  carrying 


Fig.  232. 

CARBYINO  MOTIVE  IN  PERUVIAN  TEXTILE. 

One-third  size. 


Fig.  233. 

cillBMIA    CLAV  FKJURB    FROM  COLOMBIA,  SIK  >wi\(i 

METHODOF CARRYING  BY  MBAN>  OF  A  1IKAD -HANI). 

From  *  figure  in  KaUrl'i  '   Viilkerkuinl'.  " 


\Virnt-r,  "Pe'ron  et  Bolivie,"  pp.  (><>!»,  •!:{!»;    also  KYiss  and  Stnbel,  "  \rcropolis  of 
Ani-on."  pt.  VII,  and  "/eitschrift  fiir  Ktlmolo^io,"  Berlin.  IMC..  \\vii,  p.  307. 
1  Langadorft',  "  Voyages  and  Travels,"  London.  ISIIJ,  i,  p.  17. 


544 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   1894. 


loads  on  the  back  in  frames  hung  from  the  forehead  by  a  strap,  precisely 
after  the  American  Indian  fashion.  Now  the  carrying  chair  is  borne  in 
the  same  way.  It  is  a  low  seat,  whose  hind  legs  extend  3  feet,  more  or 
less,  above  the  seat.  The  front  legs  are  inclined  backward  and  are 


Fig.  234. 

THE  CAERYING-CHAIR  IN  BRAZIL. 
From  a  figure  10  Langadorff's  "  Voyages  and  Travels." 

extended  upward  till  their  ends  meet  those  of  the  hind  legs,  where  they 
are  securely  fastened  together.  The  tamenes,  or  porters,  at  Timbala,  in 
Yucatan,  carry  a  full-sized  man  on  their  backs  in  a  chair  or  frame 
specially  designed  for  that  purpose.1 

MAN   IN   TRACTION,   AND  THE   DOMESTICATION    OF  RIDING   AND 

HAULING  BEASTS. 

After  inspecting  the  primitive  man  as  the  traveler  in  connection 
with  his  innumerable  inventions,  and  also  as  a  carrier,  the  study  would 
not  be  complete  without  giving  attention  to  man  as  a  traction  force. 

It  will  be  seen  in 
a  subsequent  study 
on  primitive  domes- 
tication that  the  ani- 
mal comes  in  merely 
to  transfer  the  load 
from  man's  back  to 
its  own.  The  haul- 
ing of  loads  is  in  the 
same  line.  Before 
there  were  traction 
beasts  there  were 
traction  men,  and  in  our  own  day  one  can  not  go  amiss  for  men  and 
boys  and  women  harnessed  to  objects  dragged  on  the  ground,  on  the 
snow,  or  along  the  water,  or  to  sleds  and  wheeled  vehicles.  In  order  to 
perform  this  duty  well  there  is  need  of  harness  for  men  (figs.  235  and 


Fig.  235. 

ESKIMO  BREAST-YOKE  USED  IN  HAULING. 
Cat.  No.  36025,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  E.  W.  Nelson. 


1  Ddsire  (Jharuay,  "Les  Ancieunes  Villes,"  Paris,  1885,  p.  433,  with  figure. 


EXPLANATION    OF    PLATE    25. 
GROUP  OF  ASSYRIAN  WORKMEN  HAULING  A  WINGED  BULL. 

Only  man  power  is  involved,  using  the  sled,  the  cart,  cooperative  traction,  the 
roller,  and  the  lever. 

The  folio  wing  features  must  be  noted: 

( 1 )  A  low  sled,  or  drag,  with  runners  of  heavy  timbers,  extra  thick  at  the  bottom, 
or  shod. 

(2)  A  rack  or  framework  about  eight  feet  high  to  steady  the  image.     The 
uprights  pierce  the  crossbars  of  the  sled  and  are  crossed  by  horizontal  l>eams 
joining  their  tops  or  middles. 

(3)  Guy  ropes  and  forked  props  attached  to,  and  placed  against,  the  top  and 
middle  rails,  respectively,  to  steady  the  image  on  the  sled.     These  are  held  at  their 
lower  ends  by  two  men  each,  fourteen  in  all. 

(4)  Long  drag  ropes,  four  in  number  and  double,  fastened  through  eyelets  in 
front  and  back  of  the  runner,  with  men  attached  to  them  by  means  of  bricoles. 
These  men  are  evidently  dragging  the  sled. 

Those  who  saw  the  southern  rivers  before  the  civil  war  will  remember  that  the 
slaves  hauled  ashore  the  heavy  seines  in  precisely  the  same  manner.  It  will  be 
remembered  also  that  in  Holland  the  small  boats  are  drawn  up  an  incline  from 
one  canal  to  another  by  ropes  attached  to  the  stern  and  wound  over  a  windlass. 
As  soon  as  the  center  of  gravity  passes  the  summit  of  the  causeway,  the  stern 
ropes  are  relaxed. 

(5)  Power  is  multiplied  by  the  tise  of  the  lever  and  the  roller  in  combination. 
Comparing  this  with  another  Kuyunjik  inscription,  it  will  be  seen  that  a  fulcrum 
is  put  beneath  the  lever  near  the  sled,  and  that  the  men  pry  up  that  part  by  means 
of  ropes  over  the  long  arm.     This  may  be  used  as  a  walking  lever  to  keep  up  con- 
tinuous motion,  or  for  the  purpose  of  setting  the  roller  under  the  sled  and  giving 
it  a  start.     One  may  see  nowadays  two  men  moving  a  heavy  locomotive  along  a 
track  by  steel  crowbars  worked  between  the  track  and  the  driving  wheel. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  all  the  megalithic  monuments  of  the  world  were 
erected,in  the  hand  epoch.  No  great  teams  of  beasts  are  shown  on  the  monu- 
ments, and  no  capstans  with  sweeps  worked  by  animals.  It  was  the  weakness  of 
the  human  body  that  necessitated  cooperation, — strong  ropes,  lubricants,  rollers, 
inclined  planes,  levers,  wheels,  etc.,  and  these  in  turn  provoked  the  highest 
expression  of  their  capacity.  (Layard,  "Babylon  and  Nineveh,"  New  York,  1853, 
Chapter  v:  also  Rawlinson,  "  Herodotus. "  New  York,  1872,  frontispiece.) 


Report  of  National  Museum,  1894.— Mason. 


PLATE  25. 


GO  O 

Q  *"* 

UJ  : 

O  •£ 

Z  3 

£  I 

<  5 


11 


o  % 

z  i 

ii 

<  § 
si- 

a.  -a 


PRIMITIVE   TRAVEL   AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


545 


236),  which,  by  and  by,  will  become  harness  for  dogs,  reindeer,  camels, 
yak  and  cattle,  goats,  elephants,  horses,  aud  mules,  and  the  varied  occu- 
pations thus  engendered  will  have  a  splendid  efflorescence  in  art  and 
mythology 

The  simplest  harness  tor  men  is,  in  military  phrase,  the  bricole,  which 
is  a  loop  to  go  over  the  head  ami  a  piece  of  loose  rope  or  lint-  extending 
therefrom  constituting  the  single  (race.  The  reindeer  in  Lapland  now 
wear  it,  and  HO  do  men  innumerable  on  the  canals  and  at  the  fishing 
shores.  In  the  old  days  of  long  seines  the  haulers  could  be  seen 
wearing  the  bricole,  now  pressing  with 
the  breast,  now  with  one  shoulder,  now 
with  the  other,  now  backing,  with  the 
loop  athwart  the  neck  or  the  shoulders 
so  as  to  watch,  their  work.  There  did  not 
seem  to  be  a  contortion  of  the  human 
body  that  could  not  usefully  employ  the 
bricole  in  traction.  It  was  collar,  breast 
strap,  and  breeching  all  in  one.  At  the 
end  of  the  loose  rope  or  trace  was  a 
Turk's  head  knot,  by  means  of  which  by 
a  single  overlap  the  seine  hauler  could 
hitch  and  unhitch  himself  from  the  cork 
line.  The  Eskimo  have  invented  a  vari- 
ety of  toggles,  frogs,  and  buttons  to  facil- 
itate attaching  and  detaching  the  hauler 
from  his  load,  to  be  illustrated  further  on. 

The  number  of  locomotives  in  the  world 
is  105,000,  aggregating  3,000,000  horse- 
power, or  125,000,000  of  menpower.  The 
writer  does  not  know  the  amount  of  horse- 
power in  navigation,  but  it  is  very  great. 
There  are  not  over  200,000,000  able- 
bodied  persons  in  the  world,  so  the  steam 
traction  power  and  the  power  of  human 
backs  are  about  equal.  But  while  steam 
traction  is  the  climax  of  the  industry  human  traction  is  not  superseded. 

The  first  mechanical  means  of  transport  by  land  was  doubtless  the 
sled.  It  was  employed  by  the  Egyptians  in  the  transfer  of  large 
masses  of  stone.1  In  one  sculpture  a  statue  drawn  by  172  men  is 
shown.  There  are  oil  men,  bosses,  and  relays.  In  Assyria,  also,  the 
sled  was  used  to  haul  heavy  loads  by  means  of  a  great  multitude  of 
men  (pi.  25).  There  is  no  better  example  to  be  found  of  the  two  princi- 
ples often  mentioned  in  this  paper — first,  that  it  is  the  manual  part  of  a 
device  that  is  greatly  modified  by  invention,  and  second,  that  the  history 
of  the  past  has  been  chiefly  the  evolution  and  glorification  of  the  hand 


Fig.  236. 

ZUXI  BREAST-BANDS   rsEU   IN  HAUUNO. 
Cat.  No.  709«a,  U.  3.  N.  M.     Collected  by  J»me>  Suvra- 


.  "  lirnkiuiiler,"  II.  p.  KJ4;  Eriiian,  "Life  in  Ancient  Egypt,"  p.  477. 
II.  Mis.  90,  pt,  2 -I'. 


54G 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


or  of  the  power  of  man.  The  industry  of  these  two  great  nations  was 
all  anthropotechnic.  Among  the  Eskimo  there  is  no  plainer  looking 
sled  than  the  ones  shown  by  Wilkinson  and  Layard  for  moving  the 
ancient  gods;  Imt  there  is  an  immense  variety  of  activity  going  ou  to 
move  the  sled — concerted  action,  relaying,  carrying,  prying,  and  com- 
manding. There  is  also  a  goodly  and  sufficient  array  of  apparatus, 
ratcheted  tracks,  strong  ropes,  oil,  levers,  and  shore  poles  to  decrease 
friction  and  to  increase  power  at  the  expense  of  time. 

In  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  the  sleds  are  associated  with  primitive 
life  and  with  snow.  But  in  many  places  in  the  United  States  and  else- 
where sleds  are  employed  to  run  over  fallen  grass  and  on  the  very  steep 
hillsides  by  the  backwoods  farmers  and  lumbermen.  As  these  harvest- 
ers of  nature  take  all  from  the  soil  and  restore  nothing,  their  hauling 

is  downhill  and  they  have 
no  difficulty  in  getting  their 
forest  product  and  their 
crops  to  the  highway. 
Wagons  would  be  out  of 
the  question  unless  the 
wheels  were  extremely  low. 
The  island  of  Madeira  is 
quite  famous  in  this  regard, 
where  sledding  becomes  a 
pastime  (tig.  237). 

It  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  in  all  countries  where 
snow  lies  on  the  ground 
long  enough  to  become 
packed,  hauling  and  travel- 
ing over  the  snow  are  the 
easiest  and  swiftest.  As 
far  south  in  America  as  the 
New  England  and  the  Northwestern  States  hauling  is  preferably  done 
in  winter  on  sleds,  largely  with  oxen.  The  frosts  render  the  roads  im- 
passable in  spring,  and  the  common  country  road  is  disagreeable  most 
of  the  year.  It  is  also  a  season  in  which  other  work  is  dull.  When  one 
reads  such  works  as  Bush's  Keindeer,  Dog,  and  Snowshoes,  it  is  pleas- 
ant to  reflect  on  the  little  difference  in  this  regard  between  many  of  the 
methods  of  cultivated  New  England  and  savage  Siberia. 

The  character!  sties  of  the  best  sled  have  to  be  studied  out  foreach  area. 
First  and  fundamentally,  in  sled-using  lands  sled-making  material  of 
the  best  quality  is  not  always  forthcoming.  Men  have  to  use  what 
they  can  get — whale's  jawbone  in  one  place,  driftwood  in  another,  and 
poor  standing  wood  in  a  third.  Not  discouraged  in  this,  the  fertile 
genius  discovers  and  develops  the  qualities  and  versatility  of  rawhide, 
of  braces,  of  splints,  of  form,  of  harness,  of  administration.  No  doubt  a 


Fig.  237. 

PASSENOEU  SLED  FROM  MADE1KA. 
From  »  photograph  in  the  V.  S.  National  Musem 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


547 


great  many  conferences  and  much  cudgeling  of  the  head  have  taken 
place.  Captain  John  Spicer.  who  spent  eleven  winters  among  the 
Eskimo,  tells  of  an  inventional  contest  and  debate  between  two  sled 
builders  in  Cumberland  Sound.  The  old-fashioned  sleds  have  narrow 
runners,  but  one  builder  declared  that  broader  runners  would  do  better. 
To  prove  his  assertion  he  made  two  sleds,  loaded  them  exactly  alike, 


Fip.  238. 

I.AIM.AN1I    I'ULK,    OK    KKKI.KI.   SI.Kll. 
Cat.  So.  UWO,  IT.  S.  N.  M.     (iift  of  thi-  Univrroit;  •.!  ChriKtiMta. 

fastened  e;wh  one  to  the  end  of  a  spar,  hitched  a  line  to  the  middle  of 
the  spar  and  pulled.  The  sled  with  bro  id  tread  moved  first  and  easiest 
every  time. 

To  make  the  sled  runners  broad  and  smooth,  the  wood  and  shoes  are, 
by  most  peoples  of  Asia  and  America,  treated  to  a  coat  of  blood  and 
water,  and  in  one  place  of  salt.  This  preparation  is  said  to  stick  faster 
than  merely  frozen  water ;  but  almost  universally  the  hyperborean 


Fiji.  'J:t9. 

U«IT<>M    VIEW    OK    I. API. AND    ITI.K. 

teamsters  go  provided  with  the  means  of  coating  the  bottom  of  the  sled 
runners  wiYh  a  pellicle  of  ice,  just  as  the  drivers  used  to  provide  the 
tar  bucket  in  days  of  wagoning. 

The  Norwegian  sled  is  10  feet  long,  1  foot  0  inches  wide,  and  <>  inches 
high.  It  is  made  of  ash  wood,  and  all  the  parts  are  firmly  lashed  together 
with  rawhide.  The  runners  are  nothing  else  than  a  pair  of  skees,  and 
arc  superior  to  the  flat  toboggan.' 

Example  No.  14800  in  the  II.  S.  National  Museum  (figs.  238,239)  is 


F.  <;.  Jackson.  "Tli.-  (in-jif  Fro/.-n  L:md."  London.  !X«»r>.  p. 


548  REPORT    OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 

called  a  pulk  or  Laplaiid  sled.  As  will  be  seen  from  the  drawing,  it 
is  built  up  like  a  boat  on  a  keel,  above  which  rise  on  either  side  strakes 
of  plank,  wide  at  the  rear  and  tapering  to  a  point  in  front,  where  they 
disappear  in  the  widened  end  of  the  keel.  The  whole  is  fastened 
together  with  treenails  passing  through  stout  wooden  bows,  the  ends 
of  which  overlap  at  the  widest  part.  The  rear  end  is  set  in  like  the 
head  of  a  barrel.  The  aft'air  is  decked  over  with  movable  sliding  planks, 
so  that  it  may  instantly  be  adapted  to  freight  or  passengers. 

The  specimen  here  represented  is  the  gift  of  the  University  of 
Christiania,  and  has  with  it  a  reindeer  properly  harnessed  and  the 
driver  in  costume  sitting  in  the  hold.  At  a  glance  he  reminds  one  of  an 
Eskimo  sitting  in  a  kaiak  from  which  the  stern  has  been  sawed  off. 

As  an  element  in  the  congeries  of  sled  "inventions,  it  is  a  compromise 
between  the  sled  and  the  boat.  The  substitution  of  one  runner  for 
two,  the  rounding  of  the  strakes  on  the  outside  to  furnish  a  keel  eft'ect, 
however  the  vehicle  might  leaii,  especially  the  inclosed  and  comfortable 
passenger,  all  suggest  settled  life,  short  journeys,  beaten  roads,  and 
social  comforts. 

The  harness  and  the  reindeer  will  be  discussed  in  another  paper. 
It  is  a  very  interesting  fact  that  Nansen,  in  studying  perfect  economy 
in  regard  to  his  boat  for  landing  in  east  Greenland,  came  upon  the 
problem  of  the  pulk  or  sled  with  a  hull  and  runners  in  one. 

The  Samoyed  sled  is  about  9  feet  long  and  30  inches  wide,  of  pine, 
with  large,  thick  runners  curved  up  at  the  front  2  feet.  On  each  side 
are  four  uprights,  close  together  toward  the  rear  and  sloping  inward. 
These  are  united  by  crossbars,  which  act  as  sills  of  the  floor.  Side 
frame  pieces  (called  bereznias)  extend  from  the  top  of  the  bend  of  the 
runners  to  the  rear  end  of  the  sled.  Baggage  is  heaped  on  the  cross 
sills,  and  the  driver  sits  thereon  or  upon  a  seat  in  front  of  it.  The 
woman's  sled  is  larger,  and  long  strips  of  rawhide  painted  red  hang 
from  the  bere/nias.' 

The  Samoyed  drives  from  two  to  five  reindeer  abreast.  Each  one  is 
harnessed  to  the  sled  by  running  traces  of  seal  hide  attached  by  chulki, 
of  which  there  is  one  at  each  side.  The  chulki  is  a  tackle  block  or  dumb 
sheave  of  ivory  or  wood  through  which  the  trace  runs  from  the  near 
to  the  off-side  reindeer.  Jackson  figures  four  of  them,  and  they  may 
be  compared  with  similar  objects  on  Eskimo  harness.  But  the  Samoyed 
man,  like  the  German  woman  with  her  dog  team,  does  a  good  part  of 
the  work  himself,  and  before  the  days  of  the  tame  reindeer  he  did  it  all. 

Towing  or  tracking  along  the  canals  and  on  the  rivers  of  China  is 
done  universally  by  men.  Each  coolie  engaged  wears  over  one  shoulder 
and  under  the  opposite  arm  a  bricple  or  harness  of  bamboo,  previously 
explained  (page  545).  From  this  becket  or  loop  a  piece  of  rope  extends 
to  the  main  line  by  which  the  load  is  hauled,  after  the  same  fashion  as 
the  negro  seine  haulers  in  Virginia  fifty  years  ago. 


1  P.  O.  Jackson,  "The  Great  Frozen  Land,"  London,  1895,  pp.  115, 118,  figure. 


PRIMITIVE   TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  549 

Of  the  sleds  about  Bere/ovsk,  in  northeast  Russia,  it  is  said  that  those 
used  for  a  long  voyage  have  the  form  of  a  box,  the  interior  being  titled 
with  beds  of  feathers  and  furs.  The  little  air  openings  are  dosed  by 
broad  curtains.  The  passenger  lies  down.1  This  form  will  be  seen  in 
every  part  of  Siberia  where  the  K'ussi;ms  have  established  themselves 
:md  their  postal  methods  MS  far  east  as  Kamchatka.  The  pavoshka 
is  also  suggestive  of  the  inclose'd  toboggan  of  central  and  northern 
<  'anada. 

Schrenck  figures  the  Amur  sled,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  its  form  is 
quite  the  universal  pattern.  It  may  be  seen  in  possession  of  children 
in  civilized  lands  wherever  there  is  snow.  Its  parts  are,  the  runners, 
gently  sloping  upward;  the  posts,  mortised  into  the  runners;  thecross- 
bars,  set  into  the 
posts  and  held  by 
lashing  or  pins;  the 
top  rail,  into  which 
are  mortised  the 
posts.  The  rail  is  Fig.24o. 

securely  fastened  to  """  "' SLKD- 

-  From  a  tifurr  HI  s.rhrrn.-k'i  "  Kcinrn  urid  Forschunfrn  mi  Amur-Lcnde." 

the  runner  in  trout. 

Omitting  tenons  and  mortises,  the  framework  is  fundamental.     (Fig. 

L>40.  )* 

The  narta,  or  sled,  of  the  Tungus  is  from  8  to  10  feet  long,  2  feet 
wide,  and  the  floor  is  1  foot  above  the  snow.  Above  this  a  few  inches 
is  a  light  railing,  on  each  side  which  keeps  the  load  in  place.  The  run- 
ners are  of  white  birch,  about  4  inches  wide,  flat-bottomed,  and  the  parts 
are  lashed  together  with  rawhide  thong.  En  front  of  each  sled  is  a 
stout  bow  to  which  the  long  seal  thong  or  trace  is  attached. 

The  Korak  about  Yainsk,  on  Okhotsk  Sea,  when  the  rough  snow 
becomes  destructive  of  sled  runners,  to  protect  them  as  well  as  to 
improve  the  running,  every  two  or  three  hours  turn  the  narta  or  sled 
over  and  with  a  piece  of  deerskin  saturated  with  water,  moisten  the 
shoes  and  in  a  few  minutes  they  are  incased  in  ice.  A  bottle  of  water 
is  carried  by  the  driver  beneath  his  furs  next  his  body.3 

Example  No.  73018  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  (fig.  241)  is  a  model 
of  a  Kamchatka!!  sled,  consisting  of  the  following  parts:  Runners, 
uprights,  sills,  bed  or  bottom  rails,  traction  bow,  and  netting  with  its 
upper  rail. 

The  runners  are  enlarged  examples  of  the  Lapland  and  Eastern  skee 
turned  up  in  front  to  the  level  of  the  bed  or  seat. 

The  posts  perform  the  following  functions:  At  the  lower  end  they 
are  inserted  for  a  short  distance  into  the  upper  margin  of  the  runner 
by  a  shallow  tenon  and  mortise.  Kaeh  one  is  perforated  above  this 
l»omt  and  a  sinew  cord  is  rove  through  these  perforations,  and  holes 

1  Eve  Fulinska,  "Le  Tour  du  Monde,"  Paris,  1862,  v,  p.  236. 
8  "  Reisen  und  Forschungeii  im  Auiur-Laude,"  iv,  p.  492. 
'Bush,  "  Kcmdrcr,  i»«>^s.  ami  Sm>\\ shoes,''  p.  322. 


550 


REPORT    OP    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


bored  through  the  runners  diagonally  in  pairs  ao  that  the  sinew  cord 
on  its  lower  loops  is  countersunk  beneath  the  runners  to  prevent  abra- 
sion. Each  upright  is  bored  through  its  middle  and  the  end  of  a  sill 
fits  exactly  into  the  bore  or  auger  hole.  Above  this  point  the  upright 
extends  far  enough  to  receive  the  top  rail. 

The  bed  or  seat  of  the  sjed  is  a  long  thin  plank  resting  on  the  sills, 
and  extending  as  far  front  as  the  flat  jx>rtion  of  the  runners. 

The  rail  is  a  cylindrical  rod  or  pole  passing  a  short  distance  above 
and  entirely  around  the  sled,  let  into  the  tops  of  the  upright  pieces,  ami 
a  network  of  sinew  cord  is  laced  through  holes  on  the  edge  of  the  bed- 
piece  and  around  the  rails  by  a  series  of  half  hitches.  The  front  of  the 
bed  is  let  into  a  stout  piece  of  wood  securely  lashed  to  the  traction 
piece,  which  is  in  the  form  of  an  oxbow,  securely  fastened  in  turn  to 
the  front  of  the  runners,  reaching  back  a  short  distance  from  the  front 
to  the  bed  and  attached  to  the  front  pair  of  uprights  by  a  cable  extend- 
ing from  the  end  of  the  bow  to  a  notch  on  the  back  of  the  upright. 


fwr^ff  i    i 


Fig.  241. 

BOTLT-UP  SLED  WITH  BODY  OF  NETWOKK. 

Kamchatka. 

Cut.  No.  7»I18,  II.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Dr.  I.eonhsr.l  Stejneger. 

Across  the  top  of  the  bed  from  upright  to  upright  there  is  a  cable  of 
sinew  cords  held  together  by  a  figure  of  eight  seizing,  common  among 
the  Eskimo  in  many  of  their  harpoon  lines. 

Above  the  rail  at  the  first  pair  of  uprights  is  another  bow  like  the 
traction  piece  in  front,  which  the  rider  is  said  to  hold  firmly  in  going 
over  precipitous  or  difficult  places.  Length,  21  inches.  Collected  by 
Dr.  Leonhard  Stejneger.  Fridtjof  Nausen  speaks  of  a  low  hand  sled, 
skikjaelke,  on  broad  runners,  resembling  ordinary  skees.1 

Captain  Cook  says  of  the  Kamchatkan  passenger  sled,  that  the  length 
of  the  body  is  about  4£  feet  and  the  breadth  1  foot.  It  is  made  in  the 
form  of  a  crescent,  of  light,  tough  wood,  fastened  together  with  wicker 
work,  and  among  the  principal  people  is  stained  with  red  and  blue,  the 
seat  being  covered  with  furs  or  bearskins.  It  has  four  legs,  about  2  feet 
in  height,  resting  on  two  long,  flat  pieces  of  wood  of  the  breadth  of  5 


1  "First  Crossing  of  Greenland,"  London,  1890,  i,  p.  33.  Compare  tigure  in  "Zeit- 
schrift  fur  Volkskunde,"  Berlin,  1891,  p.  430,  and  Senate  Ex.  Doc.  No.  92,  Fifty-third 
Congress,  third  session. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  551 

or  6  inches  extending  a  foot  beyond  the  body  of  the  sled  at  each  end. 
These  turn  up  before  somewhat  like  a  skate,  and  are  shod  with  the  bone 
of  some  animal.  The  carriage  is  ornamented  at  the  forepart  with  tas- 
sels of  colored  cloth  and  leather  thongs.  It  has  a  crossbar,  to  which 
the  harness  is  joined,  and  links  of  iron  or  small  bells  are  hanging  to 
it,  which,  by  the  jingling,  are  supposed  to  encourage  the  dogs.1 

The  riding  sled  of  Kamchatka  is  a  happy  combination  of  a  small 
hooded  body  on  a  pair  of  skees  or  Norwegian  snowshoes  for  runners. 
There  is  one  in  the  U.  8.  National  Museum  (Cat.  No.  2811),  all  the  parts 
fastened  together  with  rawhide  of  different  colors.  The  hood  is  a  piece 
of  brown  leather,  slashed  and  drawn  through  with  particolored  leather 
thongs  so  as  to  resemble  weaving.  The  writer  has  seen  the  same  imi- 
tation of  weaving  on  Eskimo  boxes  and  bags  and  on  a  box  in  Xufii. 
New  Mexico. 

Langsdorff  makes  tiie  important  statement  that  the  sleds  of  Kam- 
chatka are  of  uniform  width,  so  that  when  the  track  is  once  made  all 
will  run  in  the  same  lines.  A  good  sled  weighs  about  20  pounds. 
Tli ere  are  two  varieties,  as  shown  above,  the  riding  sled  and  the  freight 
sled.  The  runners  are  a  trifle  farther  apart  in  front.  The  driver  always 
sits  sideways,  ready  to  spring  out  at  any  moment.  The  freight  sleds, 
nardeus,  resemble  a  long  bench,  with  a  guard  on  each  side  set  upon 
short  feet.  The  runners  are  the  same  width  apart  as  in  the  riding  sled. 
Belonging  to  the  sled  is  the  oerstel,  a  strong  stick,  slightly  angular, 
with  a  spud  of  iron  at  one  end  and  thongs  of  leather  at  the  other,  into 
which  iron  rings  are  plaited  for  a  rattle.  If  the  driver  wants  to  increase 
speed  he  rattles  the  oerstel,  to  stop  the  sled  or  to  slow  up  he  sticks 
the  iron  spike  into  the  snow  in  front  of  one  of  the  crosspieces.  The 
oerstel  also  serves  as  a  lever  in  upholding  and  righting  the  vehicle.  In 
short,  this  implement  is  lever,  brake,  whip,  and  voice  to  the  driver.2 

The  Chukchi  sled  runner  is  a  long  pole,  cut  away  in  the  middle 
and  bent  until  the  two  ends  almost  meet.  In  this  stage  of  the  manu- 
facture either  part  would  serve  for  top  rail  or  runner. 

Nordeuskiold  figures  the  essential  parts  of  another  style  of  Chukchi 
sled  as  follows: 

1.  Framework  of  curved  "  knees,"  four  pairs. 

2.  Kunners  below  and  body  rails  above,  framed  to  these  knees. 

3.  A  long,  thiii  hoop  passing  on  top  of  the  body  sill  halfway  and 
under  the  bottom  of  the  runner  all  the  way.    The  floor  is  of  slats. 
These  are  for  riding.     The  pack   sleds  are  of  stronger  wood,  with 
runners  not  bent  back.     Some  of  the  light  ones  had  a  body  of  splints 
covered  more  or  less  with  reindeer  hide.3 

The  sled  and  its  outfit  occurs  as  a  motive  in  the  art  of  both  Chukchi 
;iiid  the  Eskimo.  Over  and  over  again  on  the  drill  handles  and  pipes 

'Cook,  "A  Voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  1776-1780,"  in,  p.  374. 
•  Lanjj.silortl,  "  \  ovageh  and  Travels,"  London,  1814,  in,  p.  288. 
'Nurdriiskn"ild.  •«  Voyage  of  tlie  Vega,"  New  York,  188'2,  p.  37y,  with  tigures. 


552  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

teams  of  dogs  are  moving  along  with  or  without  load.     The  Chukchi 
adds  the  reindeer  team  and  shows  the  driver  shaking  the  oerstel.1 
Hooper,  speaking  of  the  Chukchi,  says : 

The  Tuski  traveling  sled — for  there  are  two  other  kinds — is  constructed  princi- 
pally for  speed,  being  exceedingly  light  and  of  elegant  form.  Six  or  nine  arches  of 
wood,  let  into  flat  runners,  support  a  seat  about  5  feet  long  and  14  inches  broad, 
connected  at  the  head  with  the  runners  by  their  springy  curves.  A  sort  of  basket  is 
formed  at  the  back  of  the  sled,  and  broad  strips  of  whalebone  are  secured  under 
the  wooden  runners.  Braces  and  uprights  further  bind  the  parts  together,  and  all 
are  fastened  with  whalebone.  A  single  thong  of  seal  hide  from  the  under 

part  of  the  seat  serves  to  attach  the  dogs,  which  vary  in  number  from  two  to  ten; 
as  far  as  eight  they  all  run  abreast,  the  single  traces  of  the  harness  radiating  from 
the  main  thong,  to  which  they  are  secured  by  loops  of  ivory. 

Hooper1  describes  the  dogs  in  full.2 

Among  the  Eskimo  in  this  last  century,  partly  their  own  invention 
and  partly  introduced  from  the  eastern  continent,  were  to  be  found 
several  classes  of  sleds.  These,  of  course,  are  in  addition  to  the  make- 
shifts soon  to  be  mentioned. 

1.  The  bed  on  solid  runners,  the  sled  par  excellence,  repeated  in  the 
toy  sled  and  in  the  common  peasant  examples.     These  are  common 
further  east  and  in  hand  work. 

2.  The  bed  on  pairs  of  bent  sticks  or  knees  spliced  together  or  arched, 
which  serve  for  both  posts  and  sills. 

3.  The  bed  resting  on  a  square,  mortised  framework,  and  frequently 
made  with  great  care. 

4.  The  bed  flat  on  the  ground,  the  toboggan,  or  the  common  stone 
buck. 

Nausen  figures  an  ideal  sled,  with  broad  runners,  curved  at  both  ends, 
having  a  yoke  for  draft  and  bow  behind,  which  should  be  compared 
with  the  Asiatic  styles.3 

To  attach  himself  to  his  sled  and  to  his  load,  the  Eskimo  uses  his 
hand  and  a  very  simple  harness  or  toggle  now  to  be  described. 

Example  No.  43717  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  (fig.  242  a,  6)  is  a 
pretty  toggle  from  Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  cut  in  imitation  of  a  seal. 
The  lines  of  feather  ornament  on  the  back  and  the  prettily  carved 
bands  about  the  wrists  are  noticeable.  The  latter  is  in  imitation  of  the 
embroidery  around  the  tops  of  boots,  with  the  fluffy  band  of  Arctic 
fox  fur.  The  holes  are  concealed  on  the  underside,  bored  diagonally, 
so  as  to  meet  in  the  object  and  not  appear  above.  The  Eskimo  TP 
adepts  at  this  "blind  stitching"  method. 

Example  No.  43718  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  (fig.  242  c),  of  walrus 
ivory,  is  a  button  for  many  uses,  carved  to  represent  the  head  of  a  fish. 
On  the  end  and  on  the  underside  holes  have  been  bored  at  right 
angles,  meeting  to  form  a  continuous  cavity.  The  stnations  and  the 


1  Figured  by  Nordenskiold,  "  Voyage  of  the  Vega,"  New  York,  1882,  p.  498. 

'"Tents  of  the  Tuski,"  London,  1853,  p.  42. 

3  "First  Crossing  of  Greenland,"  London, -ISMO.  i,  p.  34. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


553 


point  work  of  the  drill  are  neatly  shown,  as  well  as  tin*  use  of  the  file 
or  knife,  to  convert  a  conical  hole  into  a  cylindrical  one. 

Example  No.  38551  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  (tig.  242  tf)  is  an 
ivory  hook  with  the  eyelet  in  the  plane  of  the  hook.  In  this  example 
the  whip  splice  common  among  the  Eskimo  is  shown.  Where  a  knot 
in  a  greasy  line  that  can  not  slip  or  jam  is  needed,  this  is,  of  course, 
the  best.  In  some  examples  the  splicing  is  continuous. 

Example  No.  37901  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  (tig.  242  e)  is  a  good 
specimen  of  the  Eskimo  hooU 
attachment  carved  from  walrus 
ivory.    The  eye  is  bored  trans 
versely  to  the  plane  of  the  hook 
One  or  more  of   these   forms 
would  be  employed  effectively 
by  the  Eskimo  in  lieu  of  tackle. 
The  ivory  is  so  smooth  and  the 
rawhide  lines  so  saturated  with 
grease  that  there  is  very  little 
friction. 

Example  No.  44155  in  the 
U.  S.  National  Museum  (tig. 
242/)  is  from  Cape  Darby, 
Alaska.  The  toggle  repre- 
sents a  swimming  seal.  The 
holes  are  mortised  across  the 
line  of  the  body.  The  ends  are 
tied  in  a  true  lover's  knot,  and 
t  hen  the  whole  joint,  as  well  as 
the  parallel  part  of  the  line,  are 
beautifully  served  with  raw- 
hide string. 

Example  No.  33073  in  the 
U.  S.  National  Museum  is  a 
drag  or  harness  for  a  man,  to 
attach  him  to  any  load  he  may 
have  to  draw.  It  is  held  in 
the  hand,  the  line  passing  be- 
tween the  middle  and  the  ring 
finger. 

The  toggle  is  a  bit  of  walrus  ivory,  cut  with  pointed  flutes.  The 
two  holes  for  the  strap  are  joined  outside  by  a  double  countersink.  The 
two  ends  of  the  strap  are  united  and  the  projecting  extremities  wrapped 
down  with  tine  rawhide  line.  No.  3S558  (fig..  242  0),  from  the  Yukon 
district,  is  a  plain  example  of  the  same  construction,  and  there  are 
many  more  in  the  collections. 

Kxample  No. 38552  in  the  I".  S.  National  Museum  (fig.  242  h)  is  the 
toggle  of  a  drag  from  the  Aleutian  Islands,  made  of  walrus  ivory,  in 


Fig.  242. 

KSKIMn   -1(11,01.1  >     \Ml    IIAU.NKSS    oil   CIX>THKS    HOOKS. 

Alaska. 


554 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


imitation  of  a  fox  or  wolf  doubled  up.     The  line  hole  is  bored  trans 
versely.     This  object  has  seen  much  use,  as  the  line  has  worn  a  deep 
furrow  iu  the  ivory.    No.  63819  is  a  precisely  similar  object  from  Point 
Hope,  in  form  of  a  seal. 

Example  No.  43848  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  (fig.  242  i)  is  a  toggle 
from  Unalakleet,  on  the  east  shore  of  Norton  iSound,  representing  a  seal 
floating  on  its  back.  This  specimen  was  designed  for  hard  work.  Two 
holes  are  mortised  diagonally  from  the  sides  into  the  stomach.  This 
was  done  after  the  iranner  of  the  ancient  carpenter,  by  boring  holes  at 
the  ends  of  the  mortise  and  cutting  away  the  intermediate  material. 

Example  No.  45356  in  the  IT.  S.  National  Museum  is  a  stop  or  toggle 
on  a  loop  or  becket  not  here  shown.  The  toggle  or  stop  represents  a 
number  of  seals'  heads.  The  object  is  perforated  once  longitudinally 
and  twice  transversely.  With  lines  through  the  latter  it  would  become 
a  toggle.  In  its  present  form  it  is  a  stop  for  a  running  noose  or  ivory 


Fig.  243. 

HANI)  SI.El)   WITH   RUNNERS  MADE   OK   WALRUS  TUSKS. 

St.  I, uwrenee  Island,  Alaska. 

Cat.  No.  63S87,  U.  S.  N.  M.      Collected  ).y  E.  \V.  Nelson. 

eyelet  of  some  kind.  The  rawhide  line  has  its  ends  fastened  together 
in  the  usual  way,  but  the  longer  bend  is  served  with  rawhide  string  by  a 
series  of  half  hitches  put  on  alternately  by  right  and  left  turns,  forming 
a  series  of  double  loops.  The  effect  is  as  pretty  as  the  method  is  simple. 

Concerning  these  traction  hooks  and  toggles,  it  may  be  said  that  the 
beautifully  carved  specimens  of  which  those  described  are  types,  and 
of  which  there  are  hundreds  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  are  all 
modern  and  effected  with  metal  tools  obtained  from  Europe  and  Asia. 

Example  No.  63587  in  the  TJ.  S.  National  Museum  (h'g.  243),  is  a  short 
sled  from  St.  Lawrence  Island.  The  runners  are  two  strips  from  enor- 
mous walrus  tusks,  thin  below  and  winged  or  margined  above.  Each 
one  of  these  runners  is  pierced  in  nine  places.  At  the  front  elliptical 
holes  arc  cut  for  the  attachment  of  the  harness.  Three  pairs  of  holes 
are  bored  front,  middle,  and  back  for  the  lashing  of  the  crosspieces,  and 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND   TRANSPORTATION. 


555 


one  hole  is  bored  in  the  rear  for  rawhide  loops  or  beckets.  The  ninth 
hole  is  bored  just  in  front  of  the  middle  bar  for  additional  beckets  useful 
in  lashing-  the  load  to  tin-  sled.  These  beckets  are  made  of  rawhide,  one 
end  slit,  the  other  fastened  through  the  slit  b\  a  weaver's  knot.  The 
three  crossbars  are  made  of  driftwood,  roughly  cylindrical,  somewhat 
flattened  beneath  to  n't  on  the  widened  surface  of  the  runner,  and  hav 
ing-  two  parallel  notches  cut  almost  around  the  upper  part  just  above 
the  runner.  The  crossbar  is  fastened  to  the  runner  by  a  lashing  of 
rawhide  which  passes  again  and  again  through  the  runner  over  the  end 
of  the  crossbar,  bark  through  the  runner  and  over  the  other  parallel 
notch  of  the  crossbar,  this  process  being  repeated  several  times  and 
fastened  by  simply  tucking  under.  In  the  middle  crossbars  the  end  is 


L 


..  i 


Fig.  244. 

BUILT-UP  SLED  FROM   NORTON  BAV,    ALASKA. 
Out  No.  45335,  I'.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  K.  \V.  N>N,,n 

fastened  by  a  cross  seizing,  because  the  outside  notch  has  been  some- 
what worn  away.  Such  a  vehicle  takes  the  place  of  the  wheelbarrow 
or  common  hand  cart,  and  is  used  by  man  or  dog  traction  in  bringing 
in  game  short  distances,  and  could  never  be  utilized  for  long  journeys. 
Example  15507.  from  Poonook,  is  double.  Length  of  sled,  14  inches; 
length  of  crossbars,  15  inches.  Collected  by  E.  W.  Nelson. 

Kxample  No.  45.W5  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  (tig.  244)  is  the 
model  of  a  sled,  consisting  of  runners,  three  pairs  of  knees,  bed,  uprights, 
and  rails,  from  Norton  Hay,  Alaska  The  runners  are  stout  bits  of 
wood  turned  up  in  front  to  the  level  ot  the  bed.  The  knees  are  inserted 
or  mortised  into  the  upper  margin  of  the  runners  in  a  crude  way  and 
fastened  by  pegs.  The  horizontal  portions  of  the  knees  have  been 


55  fl  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

beveled  so  as  to  splice  neatly  and  appear  as  a  single  piece  extending  from 
runner  to  runner.  These  are  fastened  together  by  lashings  of  rawhide. 

The  uprights  are  slender  posts  mortised  into  the  runners  and  fastened 
by  pegs  just  back  of  the  point  of  insertion  for  the  knees.  The  top  rails 
tit  into  notches  at  the  upper  ends  of  these,  and  are  held  down  by  lasn- 
ings.  The  bed  or  seat  of  the  sled  consists  of  four  parallel  slats  or  strips 
of  wood  extending  from  the  rear  to  the  front  of  the  runners.  Athwart 
these  slats, above  the  two  middle  ones  and  beneath  the  two  outside  ones, 
are  twenty-four  cross  slats  fastened  to  the  strips  by  a  continuous  sewmg 
of  sinew  cord,  which  passes  through  perforations  in  the  slats  and  cross- 
pieces  all  the  way,  excepting  that  underneath  the  outer  slats  the  ends  of 
the  cross  pieces  fit  in  a  sling  and  are  not  perforated.  These  two  pieces 
are  attached  to  a  stout  block  of  wood,  which,  with  the  ends  of  the  run- 
ners and  the  front  of  the  floor  or  bed  pieces,  are  joined  by  a  firm  lashing 
of  rawliide.  Length,  10|  inches.  Locality,  Norton  Bay.  Collected 
by  E.  W.  Nelson. 

Example  No.  30771  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  is  a  sled  model 
from  Norton  Sound,  consisting  of  the  following  parts:  Runners,  knees, 
posts,  floor,  and  top  rails.  The  runners,  like  a  series  from  this  and 
neighboring  regions,  consist  of  two  stout  pieces  of  wood  turned  up  with 
quite  a  sharp  curve  in  front.  The  knees  are  three  pieces  of  wood  on 
each  side,  in  the  shape  of  a  quadrate  or  ship's  knee,  mortised  into  the 
top  of  the  runner  and  held  in  place  by  a  treenail.  These  knees  are 
chamfered  and  spliced  neatly,  so  that  the  load  of  the  sled  rests  upon 
three  semicircular  arches.  There  are  also  three  posts  mortised  into  the 
top  of  the  runners  back  of  the  knees,  and  extending  upward  to  hold  a 
railing  on  the  side.  On  the  top  of  these  posts  a  hand  rail  is  fitted  into 
shallow  notches,  and  held  in  place  by  a  lashing  of  rawhide  passing 
over  the  rail  and  down  through  a  perforation  near  the  top  of  the  post. 
This  is  a  common  form  of  joint  among  the  Eskimo.  The  floor  of  the 
sled  rests  on  two  sills.  Across  these  there  are  fourteen  slats  running 
at  right  angles  to  the  sills,  and  over  the  ends  of  the  slats  and  against 
the  upright  posts  are  two  long  strips  of  wood  holding  the  slats  in  place. 
In  front  of  the  floor  and  against  the  runners  is  a  stout  piece  of  wood, 
to  which  the  team  is  attached.  The  sills  of  the  floor  are  fastened  to 
this  stout  piece  of  wood  by  rawhide  thongs  running  through  holes 
bored  in  the  crosspiece  and  in  the  sills;  but  the  strips  or  cleats  on  top 
or  the  slats  are  mortised  into  this. stout  piece  of  wood.  The  posts  and 
knees  are  held  in  place  in  the  runners  by  pegs.  The  two  knees  of  each 
pair  are  fastened  together  by  pegs  and  by  lashings  of  rawhide.  The 
slats  are  sewed  to  the  sills  by  a  continuous  Vawhide  line  passing 
through  a  series  of  holes  bored  down  through  them  and  the  sills,  one 
stitch  being  taken  in  each.  The  slats  are  attached  to  the  upper  side 
strips  in  a  somewhat  similar  manner,  only  the  sewing  passes  through 
the  strips  of  wood  and  around  the  ends  of  the  slats,  each  one  being 
grooved  for  that  purpose.  The  posts  are  fastened  also  to  these  strips 
of  wood  by  a  lashing  of  sinew. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION.  557 

Finally,  there  is  a  network  of  rawhide  which  is  laid  on  diagonally 
between  the  upper  rail  and  the  strip  along  the  top  of  the  floor.  This 
line  passes  backward  and  forward  around  each  piece  by  a  single  turn. 
without  knots.  The  knots  in  this  sledge  are  halt-turn  netting  knots, 
or  what  is  called  a  "single  bowline''.  In  many  cases  the  ends  are  sim- 
ply tucked  under  and  drawn  tight.  Length  of  model,  9£  inches. 

Example  No.  48104,  from  Norton  Bay,  is  of  similar  construction, 
except  in  minor  details.  In  this  model  the  parts  are  not  sewed  together 
with  rawhide.  Length,  -3  inches.  Collected  by  E.  W.  Nelson. 

Example  No.  IW.'WU  is  the  model  of  a  sled  in  the  U.S.  National  Museum, 
probably  from  St.  Michaels,  Alaska,  consisting  of  runners,  upright  posts, 
sills  or  crosspieces,  bed  or  seat  rails,  traction  piece,  and  handle. 

The  runners  are  long,  slender  pieces  of  hard  wood,  broad  below  and 
narrow  above,  turned  up  in  front  twice  as  high  as  the  level  of  the  bed. 
There  are  five  pairs  of  uprights  mortised  into  the  upper  margin  of  the 
runners,  raking  backward  at  a  slight  angle  and  braced  at  the  bottom 
with  rawhide  line  seized  through  perforations  in  the  upright  and 
through  the  upper  margins  of  the  runners.  This  seizing  is  then  neatly 
trapped  and  the  ends  tucked  under.  It  is  a  very  pretty  piece  of  work. 

The  sills  on  which  the  floor  or  bed  of  the  apparatus  rests  consist  of 
pieces  of  hard  wood,  with  their  ends  forming  a  cylindrical  tenon  fitting 
into  an  auger  hole  or  round  mortise. 

The  bed  consists  of  two  wide  outer  strips  or  framework,  and  between 
them  six  narrower  pieces,  parallel  and  equidistant.  These  middle 
pieces  are  not  cut  or  bored  at  all,  but  the  two  wide  ouier  pieces  are 
mortised  through  for  the  insertion  of  the  uprights.  After  the  bed  was 
in  place  a  seizing  of  rawhide  line  was  carried  backward  and  forward, 
over  and  under  the  slats,  and  around  the  outside  of  the  uprights,  and 
a  frapping  passed  around  between  the  slats,  so  as  to  form  a  perfect 
brace  in  every  direction,  holding  the  slats  firmly  to  the  sills  and  form- 
ing a  perfect  separation  for  the  parallel  parts  of  the  bed.  The  outer 
rails  of  the  bed  pass  forward  and  are  bent  upward  to  correspond  with 
the  ends  of  the  runners.  This  is  a  very  neat  piece  of  rawhide  work. 

The  rail  passes  along  the  top  of  the  uprights,  which  are  mortised  into 
them  and  held  down  by  seizings  of  rawhide  passing  through  the  upright 
and  over  the  rail,  neatly  trapped.  The  front  ends  of  these  rails  bend 
downward  from  the  foremost  upright  and  are  neatly  seized  to  the  out- 
side rails  of  the  bed.  A  network  of  rawhide  joins  the  outside  rails 
of  the  bed  to  the  upper  rail,  formed  by  three  parallel  warp  lines  passing 
through  the  uprights,  and  a  wedging  made  by  a  series  of  half  hitches 
passing  through  the  outer  rail  of  the  bed  and  the  upper  rail  at  equal 
distances,  forming  rectangular  spaces. 

The  traction  part  consists  of  a  bow  sei/.ed  to  the  foremost  uprights, 
strengthened  in  front  by  a  stout  bit  of  wood  just  in  front  of  the  upper 
part  of  the  runners. 

The  handle  of  the  sled  consists  of  a  framework  of  wood  very  much 
like  the  handle  of  an  old-fashioned  horse  rake.  The  ends  pass  down 


558  REPORT    OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 

and  are  seized  to  the  second  pair  of  uprights.  The  side  pieces  of  the 
handle  are  attached  to  a  crosspiece  at  the  rear  end  of  the  sled  and 
reseized  to  the  upper  rail.  Outside  of  the  handle  two  rawhide  lines 
double  aud  cross  each  other,  neatly  served  with  the  same  material. 
This  whole  apparatus  is  of  such  extraordinary  workmanship  that  it  is 
easy  to  say  that  much  was  made  with  modern  tools  and  that  little  is 
the  work  of  the  Eskimo.  The  form  approaches  that  of  the  Kamchatka!) 
sled,  and  the  seizing  and  knots  of  the  rawhide  are  thoroughly  aboriginal. 

Special  attention  is  called  to  the  very  primitive  fashion  of  network 
between  the  rail  and  the  bed,  in  which  the  weaving  is  done  by  a  series 
of  half  hitches.  Length,  40  inches;  width,  6  inches;  height,  5£  inches. 

Example  No.  48147  is  constructed  somewhat  on  the  plan  of  the  last 
number,  but  is  very  rudely  made.  The  floor  consists  of  four  slats  run- 
ning longitudinally  between  the  sidepieces  which  constitute  the  frame- 


Fig.  245. 

BUILT-UP  SLED  FROM  TOGIAK  RIVER,    ALASKA. 
Cat.  No.  16«66-.  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Dr.  Tarletim  H.  Bean. 

work.    Length,  2  feet  3£  inches ;  locality,  An vik.     Collected  by  E.  W. 
Nelson. 

Example  No.  49111,  from  Tanana  Kiver,  Alaska,  is  the  model  of  a 
sled  consisting  of  runners  curved  up  at  both  ends  and  knees  or  sup 
ports  for  the  floor  or  bed  of  the  sled.  There  are  three  pairs  of  these 
supports,  which  are  in  the  form  of  a  ship's  knee.  They  are  slightly 
mortised  into  the  upper  part  of  the  runner  and  secured  there  by  a 
sewing  of  rawhide. 

The  two  knees  lie  together  parallel  at  the  top  and  extend  far  enough 
to  support  the  rails  which  form  the  bed.  They  are  held  together  by  a 
Cashing  of  rawhide,  which  also  holds  down  the  rails  in  their  places. 
At  the  ends  the  rails  are  mortised  into  the  crossbars.  The  runners, 
the  outside  rails,  and  these  crossbars,  terminate  together  and  are 
lashed  with  rawhide.  This  forms  a  very  light  but  strong  sledge. 
Length,  35  inches.  Collected  by  E.  W.  Nelson. 

On  the  Porcupine  River,  interior  Alaska,  Turner  collected  a  sled 
(166974,  U.  S.  N.  M.)  with  the  foundation  like  a  toboggan  and  back  and 
sides  built  up  of  dressed  skins,  and  also  a  large  lap  robe  of  the  same 
material.  This  should  be  compared  with  a  precisely  similar  form  in  use 
in  the  Amur  country.1 


1  "Le  Tour  <ln  Monde,"  Paris,  i,  p.  106. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


559 


Example  No.  1(J8")(>7.  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  (tig.  246),  from 
Togiak  River,  is  a  sled  consisting  of  runners,  two  pairs  of  knees,  ;uid 
rails.  The  runners  are  stout  pieces  of  wood,  1£  inches  thick  above,  1 
inch  thick  below,  and  3  inches  wide,  shod  with  bits  of  antler  and  bone 
listened  on  with  pegs  or  treenails.  They  are  turned  up  abruptly  in 
front. 

The  knees  are  mortised  into  tin-  upper  margin  of  the  runners  and 
wedged  in  place.  In  order  to  bring  the  upper  part  of  the  knees  closer 


if  t 


pifr.ua. 

BIMLT-ri1  SI.KH   CSE1)   BY   TIIK    KSKIMo   ( IK   POINT   HARROW.    ALASKA. 
Krmn  ii  figure  in  thr  Ninth  Annual  Report  ot  tUr  Bureau  of  Kihm>lnf>. 


together,  each  one  is  chamfered  and  cut  away  so  that  the  other  can  be 
partly  let  into  it.  These  are  then  pegged  together  and  sewed  with  raw- 
hide lashing. 

The  rail  consists  of  a  round  pole  extending  from  the  top  of  the  runner 
in  front  on  a  level  backward  and  lashed  to  the  extended  upper  ends  of 
the  knees.  Along  the  upper  margin  of  the  runners  holes  are  bored 
and  loops  of  rawhide  inserted  for  the  attachment  of  the  load  and  for 
bracing.  For  traction  a  line  of  braided  sinew  is  provided. 


Fiji.  247. 

KSKIMO   FLAT  SI.KH   FROM   I'OINT   liAHKoW.    ALASKA. 
Kr.pin  ;.  fu'ir.'  in  the  Ninth  Annual  Report  olthc  Bureau  of  Kthnolosy. 

This  sled  is  said  by  the  collector  to  be  used  in  the  transporting  of 
kaiaks.  Length,  <>  feet.  Collected  by  T.  H.  Bean. 

The  sled  of  the  southeast  Alaskan  is  said  to  be  about  20  inches  in 
breadth  and  10  feet  in  length,  a  sort  of  rail  work  on  each  side,  and  shod 
with  bone,  put  together  with  wooden  pins  or  with  thongs  or  lashings 
of  whalebone.1 

Murdoch  describes  two  kinds  of  sleds  at  Point  Barrow:  (1)  The 
kamoti,  for  carrying  general  freight  (tig. 246):  (2)  the  unia,  low  and  flat, 
without  rail  or  standards  (tig.  247). 

The  kamoti  consists  of  runners  shod   with  strips  of  whale's  jaw; 


Cook,  "A  \\nago  to  tin-  J'aeilir  (K-e:m,  177»!-1780,"  in,  p.  23. 


560  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

standards,  four  on  a  side;  sills  for  the  flooring  of  slats;  crosspieees 
or  knees  connecting  the  runners  and  supporting  middle  floor;  rail  on 
top  of  standards,  raised  above  the  floor  and  meeting  the  front  of  the 
runner.  All  these  parts  are  fastened  together  by  seizings  of  seal  hide.1 
The  second  type  of  Point  Barrow  sled,  the  unia.  is  a  small,  low  drag 
for  conveying  bulky  objects  and  hauling  umiaks  across  laud  ice. 


Fig. 248. 

HAND   SLED  WITH   RUNNERS  OK   WHAI.KBONE. 
From  a  figure  in  the  Ninth  Annual  Heportofthe  Bureau  (,!  Kthnology. 

Both  kinds  are  made  of  driftwood  and  shod  with  strips  of  whale's 
jaw  about  three-fourths  of  a.n  inch  thick,  fastened  on  with  bone  tree- 
nails. For  carrying  a  heavj  load  over  soft  snow  the  runners  are  shod 
with  ice.  To  each  runner  is  fitted  a  shoe  of  clear  ice,  1  foot  high  and  0 
inches  thick.  From  the  ice  on  a  pond  they  cut  a  piece  the  length  of  a 
runner,  8  inches  thick  aud  10  inches  wide.  Into  these  they  cut  a  groove 


Fig.  249. 
ESKIMO  TOBOGGAN  MADE  OF  BALEEN. 

Point  Barrow,  Alaska. 

:ur«-  in  the  Ninth  Annual  Report  of  the  Hiireau  <il  Kthnc.lngy. 


deep  enough  to  receive  the  sled  runner  up  to  the  crosspiece.  The  sled 
is  fitted  into  the  grooves  and  water  poured  in  gradually.  The  sled  is 
then  turned  bottom  up  and  the  ice  shoes  carefully  rounded  with  a 
knife,  then  smoothed  by  wetting  the  naked  hand  and  passing  it  over 
the  surface  until  it  becomes  perfectly  glazed. 

J  Ninth  Ann.  Rop.  Hiirean  of  Ethnology,  p.  353. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION.  561 

Murdoch  has  carefully  gathered  the  different  methods  of  shoeing  the 
sled.  At  Fury-and-Hecla  Straits  ice  and  snow  are  mixed.  At  Cum- 
berland Gulf  they  pour  warm  blood  on  the  under  surface  of  the  bone 
shoeing-;  water  does  not  last  so  long  and  is  more  apt  to  chip  oif.  About 
Kepulse  Bay  they  ice  the  runners  by  squirting  over  them  water  that 
has  been  warmed  in  the  mouth.  In  eastern  Labrador  clay,  tempered 
with  hot  water,  is  used  first,  and  this  is  washed  with  water  and  pol- 
ished with  the  hand.  In  the  Mackenzie  region  also  earth,  water,  and 
ice  are  used.  At  Pitlekaj,  Nordeuskiold  found  the  sled  runners  to  be 
coated  with  a  layer  of  two  or  three  millimeters  in  thickness.  Schwatka 
describes  a  custom  in  King  Williams  Land  similar  to  the  Point  Barrow 
fashion.1 

Ray  brought  home  from  Point  Barrow  example  No.  89889,  U.  S. 
National  Museum  (fig.  248),  a  small  sled,  with  ivory  runners  20  inches 
long  and  13  broad.     The  bed  or  floor  consists  of  three  narrow  boards 
laid   crosswise,  held   down 
by  a  low  wooden  rail  on  ea<-li 
side.    Each  runner  is  a  slice 
from  a  single  large  walrus 
tusk,  with  the  butt  at    tlic 
back  of  the  sled.    The  floor  ng.25o. 

pieces,  which  are  parts  of  a  "' ILT  OT  8LBD' U8BD  BY  m  KDTCHIN  INDLUi8 

From  *  fisure  in  the  Report  of  the  Smithsonian  InMitntion.  1866. 

ship's  paneling,  are  lashed 

to  the  upper  edge  of  the  runners  so  as  to  project  about  one-half  inch 
on  each  side.  The  rails  flare  slightly  outward.  The  whole  is  fastened 
together  by  lashings  of  rather  broad  strips  of  baleen,  passing  through 
holes  near  the  upper  edge  of  the  runner,  around  notches  in  the  ends  of 
the  slats  and  holes  in  the  slats  inside  of  the  rails.  There  are  two  lash- 
ings at  each  end  of  each  broad  slat  or  floor  piece  and  one  in  the  middle, 
at  each  end  of  the  narrow  one.  The  last  and  the  ones  at  each  end  of 
the  sled  also  secure  the  rail  by  passing  through  a  hole  near  its  edge,  in 
which  are  cut  square  notches  to  make  room  for  the  other  lashings. 
The  trace  is  a  strip  of  seal  thong  about  5  feet  long  and  one-fourth  inch 
wide,  split  at  one  end  for  about  1  foot  into  two  parts.  The  other  end  is 
slit  in  two  for  about  3  inches.  This  is  probably  a  broken  loop,  which 
served  for  fastening  the  trace  to  a  dog's  harness.2 

Strachau  Jones  figures  a  Kutchin  sled,  turned  up  at  either  end.  Upon 
this  the  women  haul  lodges,  poles,  and  impedimenta.3  (Fig.  250.) 

Example  No.  7472  in  the  TJ.  S.  National  Museum  (fig.  251)  is  a  sled 
from  Fort  Anderson,  Mackenzie  River  district,  consisting  of  two  parts — 
the  solid  runners  and  cross  slats.  The  runners  are  in  the  form  of 
broad  planks  hewed  out  thick  above  and  thin  below,  with  a  longer 

'Ninth  Ann.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  p.  353. 

-Described  and  figured  by    Murdoch   in  Ninth  Ann.   Kep.  Hiirnuu   of  Kthnology, 

>iiiitlisonian  I.Y|...  1NJ6,  p.  321. 

H.  Mis.  90.  pt.  2 36      • 


562 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


bevel  in  front  than  in  the  rear.  The  five  crossbars  are  mortised  through 
the  upper  part  of  the  runners  in  a  very  rude  manner  and  fastened 
down  with  pegs.  The  line  for  hauling  is  attached  to  the  front  ends  of 
the  runners,  just  as  in  the  case  of  the  ordinary  toy  sled  of  boys  in 


Fig.  251. 

LOW  SLED  FROM  FOKT  ANDERSON,    MACKENZIE  RIVER,    CANADA 
Cat.  No.  74/2,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  K.  MacFarlanp. 

civilized  countries.  Although  this  was  sent  to  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum  with  a  large  collection  of  most  interesting  objects,  it  does  not 
have  the  appearance  of  being  an  aboriginal  form.  Length,  7£  inches. 
Collected  by  B.  MacFarlane. 


Fig.  252. 

LOW  SLED,  FROM  ANDERSON  RIVER,  CANADA. 
Cat.  No.  1638,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  hy  R.  MacFarlane 


Example  No.  16.38  in  the  TJ.  S.  National  Museum  (fig.  252)  is  the  model 
of  a  sled  from  Anderson  Eiver  consisting  of  high  solid  runners  and 
crossbars.  The  runners  have  a  long  bevel  in  front  and  a  short  one  in 
the  rear,  and  are  sawed  off  at  the  ends.  There  are  three  crossbars, 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


563 


broad  in  the  middle  and  chamfered  at  the  ends  for  the  lashing.  Near 
the  upper  border  of  the  runners  holes  are  gouged  through  the  wood  as 
long  as  the  end  of  the  crosspiece  is  wide.  A  double  lashing  passes 
over  the  end  and  through  these  holes  so  as  to  give  a  double  bearing 
or  brace.  This  is  a  very  common  method  of  attachment  among  the 
Eskimo.  In  the  model  the  lashing  is  done  with  rawhide  and  sinew 
twine.  This  example  reproduces  with  considerable  faithfulness  the 
construction  of  the  aboriginal  types.  The  shoeing  on  the  bottom  of  the 
runners  is  fastened  on  with  pegs  of  wood.  Length,  12  inches.  Col- 
lected by  It.  MacFarlane. 

Example  No.  7473  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  (fig.  253),  is  the  model 
of  a  sled  from  Anderson  River,  northern  Canada.  The  runners  are 
wide,  separate  planks,  curved  up  in  front  and  beveled  in  the  rear.  Five 
crosspieces  are  attached  to  the  top  of  the  runners  by  means  of  sinew 


Fig.  253. 
BUILT-UP  SLED  FROM  FORT  ANDERSON. 

Mackenzie  River  District,  Canada. 

C.t.  No.  7473,  U.  S  N.  M.     Collected  by  R.  MacFarlane. 

cord  passing  over  the  ends  of  the  slats  and  through  very  rudely  exe- 
cuted mortises  near  the  edge  of  the  runners. 

The  winding  of  the  thread  passes  over  the  slats  outside  and  inside 
of  the  runner  so  as  to  form  an  excellent  yielding  brace.  Mortising  is 
very  uncommon  among  aboriginal  peoples,  and  therefore  the  needs  of 
the  fur  traders  are  to  be  suspected. 

The  front  crosspiece  is  fastened  on  through  two  seta  of  holes  instead 
of  mortises.  Between  the  slats  on  top  of  each  runner  six  posts  are 
mortised  and  fastened  down  with  treenails,  and  a  similar  post  is  mor- 
tised through  the  upper  surface  of  the  hind  slat.  Along  the  top  of 
these  posts,  at  the  sides  and  at  the  rear,  are  tight  rails  which  extend 
out  and  are  fastened  to  the  upturned  ends  of  the  runners.  The  rails 
are  sewed  to  the  posts  by  means  of  babiche.  Length,  14  inches.  Col-, 
lected  by  R.  MacFarlane. 


564  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

Example  No.  7474  is  the  model  of  a  sled  from  Fort  Anderson,  Mac- 
enzie  River  district,  built  up  on  knees,  similar  to  example  No.  49111. 
Length,  12  inches.  Collected  by  Robert  MacFarlane. 

The  U.  S.  National  Museum  possesses  a  large  number  of  full-sized 
specimens  of  the  Canadian  toboggan.  A  model  of  one  of  them  from 
Anderson  River,  northern  Canada,  example  No.  1976  in  the  U.  S. 
National  Museum  (fig.  254)  is  made  of  two  separate  thin  planks  of 
birch  wood  not  more  than  three  eighths  of  an  inch  in  thickness.  These 
two  planks  are  joined  together  pretty  evenly  at  the  inner  edges  and  held 
in  place  by  four  battens  in  the  upper  side,  three  of  them  at  equal  dis- 
tances along  the  flat  surface,  and  a  double  batten  holding  the  two  ends 
together  in  front.  These  battens  are  firmly  secured  in  place  by  a  lash- 
ing of  rawhide  which  passes  over  the  batten  through  the  boards.  On 
the  under  side,  the  holes  through  which  the  rawhide  passes  are  counter- 
sunk, vso  there  is  no  danger  of  being  injured  by  abrasion.  These  raw- 
hide lashings  are  put  on  with  great  regularity,  showing  on  the  under 


Fig.  254. 
CANADIAN  TOBOGGAN  OE  FREIGHT  SLED. 

Cat.  No.  1976.  U.S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  R.  MacFarlane. 

side  a  pair  of  countersunk  cavities  on  the  boards  so  that  every  part  is 
securely  held  in  place  where  the  most  strength  is  needed.  On  the 
upper  side  the  rawhide  line  shows  an  alternation  of  simple  turns  and 
marline  hitches.  The  boards  constituting  the  toboggan  are  curled  up 
in  front  after  the  manner  of  an  elegant  sledge  and  sewed  together 
with  rawhide.  This  sewing  is  done  in  a  very  interesting  manner. 
On  the  upper  surface  the  holes  appear  some  distance  away  from  where 
the  two  margins  are  joined  together,  but  on  the  underside  they  come 
out  very  near  the  margin  so  that  they  are  bored  out  and  unite  along 
these  edges.  The  front  of  the  sled  is  braced  by  means  of  small 
cables  of  rawhide  passing  from  the  tip  end  to  the  planks  below  and  to 
the  first  batten.  There  is  also  a  strong  rawhide  line  carried  from  the 
tip  to  the  end  of  the  last  batten  in  the  rear.  This  gives  stability  to 
the  vehicle  in  every  direction  without  increasing  its  weight. 

Upon  this  model  is  lashed  a  long  capsule  or  open  bag  of  tawed  rein- 
deer hide  bound  around  the  edges  and  representing  the  cover  or  pro- 
tection in  which  the  pack  or  load  is  placed  and  held  securely. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL   AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


565 


The  knots  on  this  model  are  mostly  half  or  marline  hitches  alternating 
with  round  turns.  Here  and  there,  in  fastening  off  the  work  (among 
the  American  aborigines),  a  square  knot  is  found  (which  is  somewhat 
unusual  in  this  writer's  experience),  the  Indians  of  this  continent  using 
the  plan  of  merely  taking  in  a  loose  end  and  relying  upon  the  shrinkage 
of  the  rawhide  to  hold  it  in  place.  Length,  2  feet  4  inches.  Collected 
by  B.  R.  Ross. 

Example  No.  166974  in  the  IT.  S.  National  Museum  (fig.  255)  is  a  trav- 
eling sled  from  Canada.  The  apparatus  is  based  on  a  toboggan  made 
of  short  planks  and  crossbars.  The  front  is  covered  with  leather  for 
ornamental  purposes  and  the  side  and  back  arc  of  moose  skin  set  up  on 
a  frame  of  wood  and  iron  painted  red  on  the  outside.  The  body  or 
riding  part  extends  backward  to  within  22  inches  of  the  end,  which  is 
left  free  either  for  luggage  or  for  the  driver  to  stand  on  when  he  is 
riding.  Rawhide  lines  or  loops  are  attached  to  the  side  for  the  purpose 
of  holding  baggage  or  for  the  convenience  of  the  driver.  From  the 
front  to  the  rear  extend  doubled-braided  lines  a  half  inch  wide,  and  the 


Fig.  255. 

CANADIAN  TRAVELING  BLED,   FULL-RIOOED. 

Porcupine  River,  Alaska. 

Cat.  No.  166974,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collertrd  by  .1.  H.  Turnrr. 

interior  is  provided  with  a  cover  or  boot  of  soft  moose  skin  either  for 
protecting  the  driver  against  the  weather  or  for  covering  up  the  freight. 
Width,  14  inches;  height  of  body,' 18  inches.  Collected  by  J.  Henry 
Turner. 

Dr.  Rae  tells  us  that  the  Boothians  use  sleds  of  rolled-up  sealskin, 
not  from  choice  but  of  necessity,  because  they  have  little  or  no  wood, 
and  no  large  bones  of  the  walrus  or  whale  with  which  to  construct 
them,  as  the  Arctic  Highlanders  have.1 

McClintock  also  says  that  the  runners  (or  sides)  of  some  old  sleds  left 
at  Matty  Island  were  very  ingeniously  formed  out  of  rolls  of  sealskin, 
about  3£  feet  long,  and  flattened  so  as  to  be  2  or  3  inches  wide  and  5 
inches  high.  The  sealskins  appeared  to  have  been  well  soaked  and  then 
rolled  up,  flattened  into  the  required  form,  and  allowed  to  freeze.  The 
underneath  part  was  coated  with  a  mixture  of  moss  and  ice  laid 
smoothly  on  by  hand  before  being  allowed  to  freeze,  the  moss  answer - 

'"  Eskimo  Migration,"  Journ.  Anthrop.  Inst.,  London,  1878,  VH,  p.  129. 


566  REPORT   OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 

iug  the  purpose  of  hair  in  mortar  to  make  the  compound  adhere  more 
firmly.1 

The  Pima  Indians  of  Arizona  are  also  said  to  make  a  wagon  of  hide 
for  dragging  their  crops,  and  Peary  relates  that  on  one  occasion  he 
made  a  sled  of  musk-ox  skin. 

"it  is  easier,"  he  says,  "to  haul  150  pounds  on  a  sled  than  to  carry  50 
pounds  on  your  back,  particularly  over  the  snow.  The  weight  on  the 
back  sinks  one  down  into  the  snow,  while  the  sled  is  a  much  more  easy 
process.  For  instance,  on  one  occasion  I  hauled  a  sled  carrying  60  or 
70  pounds  for  1,100  miles,  and  our  average  day's  journey  was  24  miles. 
The  snow  was  in  fairly  good  condition,  and  we  came  back  well.  If  I 
had  been  carrying-  that  weight,  it  would  have  been  very  difficult." 

Petitot  says  of  the  Slave  Indians  about  Fort  Kae,  Hudson  Bay  ter- 
ritory, that  it  is  a  singular  spectacle  to  see  a  horde  of  these  savages  on 
their  march  over  a  frozen  lake.  As  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  could  be 
seen  a  long  file  of  sleds  and  dogs,  of  women  loaded  with 
burdens  and  young  children.2 

The  Western  Deu.6  travel  in  winter  by  means  of  light 
toboggans  drawn  by  three  or  four  dogs  trotting  in  In- 
dian file.  In  summer,  when  families  are  en  route  for  their 
hunting  grounds,  the  dogs  are  used  for  pack  animals/1 


Fig.  256. 

BSKIMO  SLED  (QAMUTINQ),  PROM  CUMBERLAND  GULF. 
From  a  figure  in  the  Sixth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

The  sleds  of  the  Chippewayan  are  formed  of  thin  slips  of  board, 
turned  up  in  front,  and  are  highly  polished  with  crooked  knives  in  order 
that  they  slide  along  more  smoothly.  They  are  made  of  the  red  or 
swamp  spruce-fir  tree.4 

Boas,  from  whom  the  following  is  taken,  declares  that  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  year  the  only  passable  road  for  the  Central  Eskimo 
is  that  afforded  by  the  ice  and  snow;  therefore  sleds  (qamutiug)  of 
different  constructions  are  used  in  traveling. 

The  best  model  is  made  by  the  tribes  of  Hudson  Strait  and  Davis 
Strait,  for  the  driftwood  which  they  can  obtain  in  abundance  admits 
the  use  of  long  wooden  runners  (fig.  256).  Their  sleds  (Boas,  tig.  482) 

'McClintock's  Narrative,  etc.,  Boston,  1860,  p.  233,  with  figure. 
2 Smithsonian  Rep.,  1865,  p.  135. 

3Cf.  Father  Morice,  Proc.  Can.  Inst.  (Series  3),  vn,  p.  131. 

••Mackenzie,  "  Voyages,  from  Montreal  through  the  Continent  of  North  America," 
Philadelphia,  1802,  p.  125. 


PRIMITIVE   TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  567 

have  two  runners,  from  5  to  15  feet  long  and  from  L'O  inches  to  L'i  feet 
apart.  They  are  connected  by  crossbars  of  wood  or  bone,  and  the  back 
is  formed  by  deer's  antlers  with  the  skull  attached.  The  bottom  ot  the 
runners  (qamun)  is  curved  at  the  head  (uinirn)  and  cut  off  at  right 
angles  behind.  It  is  shod  with  whale's  bone,  ivory,  or  the  jawbones  of 
a  whale.  In  long  sleds  the  shoeing  (pirqang)  is  broadest  near  the  head 
and  narrowest  behind.  This  device  is  very  well  adapted  lor  sledding 
in  soft  snow;  for,  while  the  weight  of  the  load  is  distributed  over  the 
en  tire  length  of  the  apparatus,  the  fore  part,  which  is  more  apt  to  break 
through,  has  a  broad  face,  which  presses  down  the  snow  and  enables 
the  hind  part  to  glide  over  it  without  sinking  in  too  deeply. 

The  shoe  (Boas,  fig.  483)  is  either  tied  or  riveted  to  the  runner.  If 
tied,  the  lashing  passes  through  sunken  drill  holes  to  avoid  any  friction 
in  moving  over  the  snow.  The  right  and  left  sides  of  a  whale's  jaw  are 
frequently  used  for  shoes,  as  they  are  of  the  proper  si/e  and  permit  the 
shoe  to  be  of  a  single  piece.  Ivory  is  cut  into  flat  pieces  and  riveted  to 
the  runner  with  long  treenails.  The  points  are  frequently  covered 
with  bone  on  both  the  lower  and  upper  sides,  as  they  are  easily  injured 
by  striking  hard  against  hummocks  or  snowdrifts. 

The  crossbars  (napun)  project  over  the  runners  on  each  side  and 
have  notches  which  form  a  kind  of  neck.  These  necks  serve  to  fasten 
the  thongs  when  a  load  is  lashed  on  the  sledge.  The  bars  are  fastened 
to  the  runners  by  thongs  which  pass  through  two  pairs  of  holes  in  the 
bars  and  through  corresponding  ones  in  the  runners.  If  these  fasten- 
ings should  become  loose  they  are  tightened  by  winding  a  small  thong 
around  them  and  thus  drawing  the  opposite  parts  of  the  thong  tightly 
together.  If  this  prove  insufficient,  a  small  wedge  is  driven  between 
the  thong  and  the  runner. 

The  antlers  attached  to  the  back  of  the  sled  have  the  branches 
removed  and  the  points  slanted  so  as  to  tit  to  the  runners.  Only  the 
brow  antlers  are  left,  the  right  one  being  cut  down  to  about  3  inches  in 
length,  the  left  one  to  1£  inches.  This  back  forms  a  very  convenient 
handle  for  steering  the  sledge  past  hummocks  or  rocks,  for  drawing  it 
back  when  the  points  have  struck  a  snowdrift,  etc.  Besides,  the  lash- 
ing for  holding  the  load  is  tied  to  the  right-brow  antler,  and  the  snow 
knife  and  the  harpoon  are  hung  upon  it. 

Under  the  foremost  crossbar  a  hole  is  drilled  through  each  runner. 
A  very  stout  thong  (pitu)  consisting  of  two  separate  parts  passes  through 
the  holes  and  serves  to  fasten  the  dogs'  traces  to  the  sledge.  A  button 
at  each  end  of  this  thong  prevents  it  from  slipping  through  the  hole  of 
the  runner.  •  The  thong  consists  of  two  parts,  the  one  ending  in  a  loop, 
the  other  in  a  peculiar  kind  of  clasp  ipartirnng).  Figure  484  (Boas) 
represents  the  form  commonly  used.  The  end  of  one  part  of  the  thong 
is  fastened  to  the  hole  of  the  clasp,  which,  when  closed,  is  stuck  through 
the  loop  of  the  opposite  end  (see  Boas,  tig.  482).  A  more  artist  i<  design 
is  shown  in  lig.  is.",  f  l',oa>  .  One  end  of  the  line  is  tied  to  the  hole  on  the 


568 


REPORT    OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


underside  of  this  implement.  When  it  is  in  use  the  loop  of  the  other 
end  is  stuck  through  another  hole  in  the  center  and  hung  over  the  nozzle. 
The  whole  represents  the  head  of  an  animal  with  a  gaping  mouth.  The 
dogs'  traces  are  strung  upon  this  line  by  means  of  an  uqsirn  (fig.  257), 
an  ivory  implement  with  a  large  and  a  small  eyelet  (Boas,  fig.  486). 

This  whole  account  of  the  central  Eskimo  sled  should  be  studied 
in  the  original  memoir. 

Other  sleds  are  made  of  slabs  of  fresh-water  ice,  which  are  cut  and 
allowed  to  freeze  together,  or  of  a  large  ice  block  hollowed  out  in  the 
center.  All  these  are  clumsy  and  heavy,  and  much  inferior  to  the  large 
sled  just  described.1 


Fig.  257. 

ESKIMO   DOG   HARNESSED   FOR  SLED. 
From  :i  fimre  in  the  Sixth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

The  inhabitants  of  Hudson  Strait  leave  Tuniqten  in  the  spring,  arrive 
at  the  head  of  Frobisher  Bay  in  the  fall,  and  after  the  formation  of  the 
ice  reach  the  Kugumiut  settlements  by  means  of  sleds.2 

The  Eskimo  sleds  seen  by  Parry  vary  in  size,  being  from  6i  to  9 
feet  in  length,  and  from  18  inches  to  2  feet  in  breadth.  Some  of  those 
at  Igloolik  were  of  larger  dimensions,  one  being  11  feet  in  length  and 
weighing  268  pounds,  and  two  or  three  others  above  200  pounds.  The 
runners  are  sometimes  made  of  the  jawbones  of  a  whale,  but  more 


1  Sixth  Ann.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  pp.  529-538,  figs.  482-489. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  423. 


PRIMITIVE  TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION.  569 

commonly  of  several  pieces  of  wood  or  bone,  scarfed  and  lashed 
together,  the  interstices  being  filled,  to  make  all  smooth  and  firm,  with 
moss  stuffed  in  tight  and  then  cemented  by  throwing  water  to  freeze 
upon  it.  The  lower  part  of  the  runner  is  shod  with  a  plate  of  harder 
bone,  coated  with  fresh-water  ice  to  avoid  wear  and  tear  and  to  make  it 
run  smoothly.  This  coating  is  performed  with  a  mixture  of  snow  and 
fresh  water  about  a  half  inch  thick  rubbed  over  it  until  it  is  smooth 
and  hard  upon  the  surface.  When  the  ice  is  only  in  part  worn  off,  it  is 
renewed  by  taking  some  water  in  the  mouth  and  spirting  it  over  the 
former  coating. 

He  noticed  a  sled  which  was  curious  on  account  of  one  of  the  run- 
ners and  a  part  of  the  other  being  constructed  without  wood,  iron,  or 
bone  of  any  kind.  For  this  purpose  a  number  of  sealskins  were  rolled 
up  and  disposed  into  the  required  shape,  and  an  outer  coat  of  the 
same  kind  was  sewed  tightly  around  them.  This  formed  the  upper  half 
of  the  runner,  the  lower  part  consisting  entirely  of  moss,  molded,  while 
wet,  into  the  proper  form,  and  being  left  to  freeze,  adhering  firmly 
together  to  the  skins.  The  usual  shoeing  of  smooth  ice  completed  the 
runner,  which  for  six  months  of  the  year  is  as  hard  -as  wood.  The  cross- 
pieces  which  form  the  bottom  of  the  common  sled  were  made  of  bone, 
wood,  or  anything  they  could  muster.  Over  these  was  generally  laid 
a  sealskin  as  a  flooring,  and  in  the  summer  a  pair  of  deer's  horns  are 
attached  to  the  sled  as  a  back,  which  are  removed  in  winter  to  enable 
them  when  stopping  to  turn  the  sled  up  to  prevent  the  dogs  running 
away  with  it. 

The  whole  is  secured  by  lashings  of  thong,  giving  it  a  degree  of 
strength  combined  with  flexibility  which  no  other  mode  of  fastening 
could  effect.1 

The  sleds  of  Smith  Sound  were  made  up  of  small  fragments  of  porous 
bone,  admirably  knit  together  by  thongs  of  hide.  The  runners,  which 
glistened  like  burnished  steel,  were  of  highly  polished  ivory  obtained 
from  the  tusks  of  the  walrus.2 

Nowadays,  says  Bessels.  the  sled  is  the  only  means  of  conveyance  used 
by  the  Eskimo  of  Smith  Sound.  Before  they  came  in  contact  with  the 
white  man  this  was  composed  of  pieces  of  bone  ingeniously  fastened 
together  with  thongs  of  rawhide,  but  now  wood  is  frequently  used.3 

In  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  is  a  model  of  a  sled  from  North  Green- 
land, example  No.  10418.  The  parts  to  be  noticed  on  this  sled  are  the 
runners,  the  ivory  shoeing  of  the  runners,  the  crosspieces  or  flooring, 
the  braces  and  handles,  and  the  method  of  lashing  the  different  parts 
together.  Owing  to  the  great  scarcity  of  material  in  this  Eskimo  region, 


'William  Edward  Parry,  "Second  Voyage  for  the  Discovery  of  a  Northwest  Pas- 
sage," London,  1825,  pp.  514-515. 

•Kane,  "Arctic  Explorations,''  Philadelphia, I,  1856,  p.  205,  with  illustrations. 

3Be8sels,  Am.  Nat.,  1884,  p.  868,  fig.  4.  Also  "Die  Anierikanische  Nord-pol  Expe- 
dition," Leipzig,  1879,  p.  359,  with  two  excellent  figures  of  old  sleds. 


570  REPORT   OP   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 

most  of  their  sleds  as  well  as  other  apparatus  are  made  of  oak  and  other 
timber  gathered  from  whaleships  or  wrecks. 

The  runners  are  each  of  a  single  piece  of  wood,  straight  along  the  top 
and  pointed  in  front  by  a  long  curve.  Through  the  runners  holes  are 
bored  along  the  upper  margin  for  the  lashing  of  the  crosspieces  and  the 
handles,  and  in  the  lower  margin  for  lashing  of  the  shoeing.  Between 
these  perforations  and  the  part  to  be  lashed  the  wood  is  cut  away,  so 
that  the  thong  or  other  seizing  is  always  countersunk  and  not  exposed 
to  be  injured  by  abrasion  of  ice  or  snow.  The  shoeing  is  made  up  of 
pieces  of  ivory  or  bone  fastened  on  by  treenails  at  each  end  of  the  strips 
and  firmly  held  to  the  runner  by  a  series  of  lashings  through  counter- 
sunk holes.  To  effect  this,  first,  a  larger-sized  hole  is  bored  in  a  little 
way  from  the  bottom;  then  two  holes  are  bored  from  this  point  diag- 
onally, one  having  an  outlet  on  the  inner  margin  of  the  runner,  and  the 
other  just  on  the  outer  margin  of  the  runner,  to  meet  the  two  holes 
bored  for  this  purpose  through  the  runner  itself.  A  coarse  lashing  of 
thong  is  then  sewed  through  the  hole  and  through  the  runner  around 
and  around  until  the  hole  is  filled  up  and  well  bound  together.  To 
hold  the  floor  pieces,  on  top  each  bit  of  wood  is  cut  away  so  as  to  leave 
only  a  narrow  end;  a  hide  thong  is  wrapped  around  these  ends  down 
through  the  hole  in  the  runner  from  side  to  side,  in  the  usual  method 
of  the  Eskimo.  Braces  run  from  the  front  crosspiece  out  toward  the 
front  of  the  sled  and  are  held  in  place  by  treenails  and  lashings  of 
hide  passing  through  holes  bored  in  each.  The  handles  are  of  the 
typical  shape,  and  they  also  are  sewed  to  the  upper  margin  of  the  run- 
ner as  described.  A  round  piece  of  wood  passes  from  handle  to  handle 
and  is  slightly  let  into  each  and  held  in  place  by  a  lashing  of  thong. 

In  a  word,  the  parts  of  the  sled  are  all  sewed  together  in  such 
manner  as  to  take  the  strain  in  every  direction,  and  not  to  expose  the 
material  to  abrasion  at  any  point.  This  model  is  a  fair  representation 
of  all  the  sleds,  small  and  great,  from  this  region.  Length  of  model, 
14  inches.  Collected  by  Dr.  E.  K.  Kane. 

The  parts  of  sied  (No.  2676)  to  be  now  studied  are  the  runners,  the 
shoeing,  the  crossbars,  the  handle,  and  the  lashing.  (Fig.  258.)  The 
runners  (as  in  the  case  of  most  from  this  region)  are  made  of  oak  planks 
less  than  1  inch  thick,  4  inches  high,  and  2  feet  4  inches  long,  taken  from 
whaleships.  Evidently  these  runners  have  formed  part  of  a  sled  prior 
to  their  use  in  this  one,  for  there  are  a  great  many  holes  bored  along 
the  top  and  bottom  which  now  have  no  function.  Each  runner  is  shod 
with  strips  of  narwhal  ivory.  Holes  are  bored  through  the  runners 
three-fourths  of  an  inch  from  the  bottom,  and  the  wood  is  cut  away 
between  these  holes  and  the  bottom  so  that  the  rawhide  lashing  may  be 
countersunk.  The  shoeing  is  fastened  to  the  runners  in  the  following 
manner :  Holes  half  an  inch  apart  are  bored  diagonally  through  the  ivory 
so  as  to  meet  in  a  single  countersunk  cavity  below.  At  every  point  of 
attachment  there  are  two  sets  of  these  holes,  one  near  the  outer  margin 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


571 


of  the  shoeing,  the  other  near  the  inner  margin.  The  rawhide  lashing 
passes  through  the  runner,  then  down  through  one  of  the  diagonal  holes 
in  the  shoeing  and  up  through  the  other,  then  through  the  runner  to 
the  inside,  and  down,  and  up  through  the  diagonal  bores  in  the  shoeing 
back  to  the  outside,  as  indicated  in  the  drawing.  The  only  exception 
to  this  method  of  attachment  is  where  two  ends  of  the  shoeing  come 
together.  In  that  case  the  bore  passes  down  through  the  shoeing  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  from  the  end,  and  a  slight  gutter  is  cut  from 
this  perforation  to  the  end  of  the  ivory.  When  two  pieces  are 
bored  and  guttered  in  this  way,  a  rawhide  line  passes  down  through 
one  along  to  the  other  in  the  countersink;  the  lashing  then  passes  up 
through  the  hole  in  the  runner  to  the  inside,  and  down 
through  the  other  two  perforations,  backward  and  forward. 
until  they  are  firmly  sewed  on  and  the  rawhide  is  protected  at 
every  point.  When  the  process  is  understood,  the  ingenuity 
of  the  Eskimo  will  appear,  the  object  being  at  every  step  to 
secure  the  shoeing  permanently  in  place  and  yet  to  protect 
the  rawhide  line  from  abrasion  by  the  ice.  There 
are  tive  crossbars  to  the  sled  on  which  the  load  />\ 

rests.    They  are  made  of  the  roughest  kind  of  pine 
and  oak  from  old  box  covers  or  barrels,  and  the 


Fig.  258. 

EASTERN  ESKIMO  SLED. 
r.i.  N,,.  8676,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  Dr.  R.  K.  K«n«-. 

front  one  has  been  mended  by  a  splicing  of  bone,  as  there  is  no  bracing 
whatever  in  the  Greenland  sled  beneath.  The  lashing  of  these  cross 
bars  is  very  complete  and  efficient;  holes  are  bored  through  the  runners 
1£  inches  from  the  top,  just  below  where  the  crossbar  is  to  be  attached. 
The  crossbars  are  cut  away  at  the  ends,  so  as  to  form  a  notch  like  a 
dovetail.  A  stout  rawhide  line  passes  over  this  notch  and  down  through 
the  runner  to  the  inside,  up  over  the  notch  and  down  to  the  hole  in  the 
runner,  and  back  to  the  outside.  These  excursions  through  the  runner 
and  over  the  end  of  the  crosspiece  continue  until  the  holes  are  tilled 
up;  the  strands  of  the  lashing  are  seixed  thinly  by  several  turns  of  the 
rawhide  line.  In  this  particular  case  a  half  turn  of  the  lashing  pa.--f- 
also  through  old  holes  that  were  used  when  these  runners  were  part  of 
another  sled. 

The  handles  are  very  much  like  those  of  a  plow.     They  fit  on  the  top 


572  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

of  the  runner  at  the  hind  end,  and  are  held  on  by  a  rawhide  line  pass- 
ing- through  a  series  of  holes  bored  in  the  runner  and  in  the  handle. 
In  addition  to  this,  a  rawhide  line  passes  from  a  hole  in  the  handle  2 
inches  above  the  runner  to  another  hole  in  the  heel  of  the  sled.  Two 
inches  below  its  upper  margin  a  rawhide  line  is  rove  four  times  through 
and  fastened  off  by  a  half  hitch;  this  part  of  the  work  is  very  neatly 
done.  The  upper  part  of  the  handles  are  joined  together  by  a  cross- 
piece,  which  is  held  on  by  n  diagonal  lashing. 

The  knots  on  this  sled  are  very  interesting,  consisting  of  splices  or 
whip  knots  (a  very  common  device  in  all  rawhide  lines),  overhand  knots  ? 
and  a  series  of  half  turns.  After  all,  the  most  efficient  knot  is  that  shown 


Fig.  259. 
ESKIMO  SLED-BUNNEB  MADE  OF  WHALEBONE. 

Reunselaer  Harbor,  Greenland. 

Cat.  No.  10417,  U.  S.  N.  M.     Collected  by  T>r.  E.  K.  Kane. 

in  the  attachment  of  the  crosspieces  to  the  runners,  consisting  of  a  seizing 
fastened  off  with  a  single  half  hitch;  the  side  strand  and  fore-and-aft 
strand  are'taken  up  very  effectively  by  this  method  of  lashing. 

In  a  land  where  there  is  no  other  mode  of  attachment,  of  course  the 
sled  maker  has  to  rely  upon  his  rawhide  line  to  hold  the  parts  of  the 
vehicle  together.  Collected  by  Dr.  E..K.  Kane. 

There  is  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  (example  No.  10417,  fig.  259), 
a  sled  runner  made  from  sections  of  the  bones  of  a  whale,  initered  and 
fitted  together,  and  then  sewed  by  lashings  of  rawhide  lines. 

The  shoeing  is  made  of  seven  strips  of  ivory  and  bone  sewed  on  to 
the  runner  by  means  of  a  rawhide  line  passing  through  the  runner  and 
through  the  shoeing,  the  gutters  being  countersunk,  so  as  to  prevent 
the  abrasion  of  the  united  material.  Length,  2o£  inches. 

General  Greely  figures  a  modern  Greenland  low  sled  with  crossbars 
and  handles  of  wood,  and  by  the  side  of  it  an  old  specimen  with  runners 
of  driftwood  shod  with  bone,  three  wooden  crosspieces  and  handles  of 
whale  rib  lashed  on  to  the  runners  with  thong  and  having  a  crossbar  at 
the  top.1  The  specimen  is  much  dilapidated. 

Example  No.  89941,  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  (fig.  260)  is  a  sled 
from  Labrador,  consisting  of  three  parts,  the  runners,  the  crosspieces, 
and  the  floor  or  bed.  The  runners  are  of  wood,  bent  up  slightly  at  the 
front.  On  the  top  of  the  runners,  front  and  rear,  jogs  have  been  cut 
and  perforated.  On  the  top  of  these  rest  the  crosspieces  or  sills,  and 
above  this  three  slats  running  longitudinally,  one  in  the  middle,  and 
one  at  each  side  connected  with  the  runner  in  front.  The  parts  are 


1  "Lady  Frankliu  Bay  Expedition,"  I,  pi.  VI. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


573 


fastened  together  by  lashing.     Length,  9£  inches.    Collected  by  Lucien 
M.  Turner. 

The  komatik,  according  to  \V.  A.  Steams,  is  a  sort  of  sled  used  by 
Indians  of  Bonne  Esperance  Island,  and  looks  very  much  like  a  magni- 
fied specimen  of  one  of  those  latter  articles.  Its  dimensions  vary  from 
9  to  13  feet  in  length,  from  1'  to  3  feet  in  width,  and  it  stands  about  8 
inches  from  the  ground.  The  wood  is  wholly  pine,  and  the  side  bars 
are  cut  out  of  thin  deal  boards,  planed  down  to  about  1  or  rarely  L' 
inches  in  thickness,  \\irh  the  front  ends  turned  up  like  the  front  run- 
ner of  a  modern  sled;  the  sides  are  often  beveled,  so  that  the  bottom 
is  one-fourth  or  one-half  an  inch  wider  than  the  top.  The  upper  part 
of  the  sled  is  made  of  a  number  of  thin  pieces  of  wood  of  equal  length 
and  about  4  inches  in  Width,  with  the  ends  rounded,  and  then  notched — 
for  a  purpose  that  will  appear  hereafter.  The  front  and  rear  pieces  are 
similar,  but  of  double  the  width,  while  the  thickness  of  all  is  about  the 
same,  generally  one-half  an  inch,  though  the  end  pieces  are  perhaps  a 
little  thicker.  Each  piece  has  two  pairs  of  holes  bored  through  it  on 
either  end,  the  distance  between  each  pair  of  holes  being  that  of  the 
width  of  the  top  of  the  runner,  and  the  distance  between  the  holes  of 
each  pair  being  about  half  an  inch.  Between  each  pair  the  end  is  then 
gouged  out  crosswise  about  one  fourth  of  an  inch  deep,  while  the  inner 
pair  are  connected  at  right  angles  by  another  gouge,  the  purpose  of 


Fig.  260. 

BUILT-UP  SLED  FROM  LABRADOR. 
Cat.  So.  89941.  U.  S.  K.  M.     Collected  by  Lucien  M.  Tur 


which  will  soon  be  seen.  A  curious  fact  is  that  all  these  holes  are 
bored  out  with  a  red  hot  iron,  to  make  them  smooth  and  even.  On  the 
side  bars  or  runners,  at  a  regular  and  previously  measured  distance 
apart,  are  bored  holes  to  the  exact  number  of  the  crossbars.  The  holes 
are  bored  one  a  little  above  and  the  next  a  little  below  the  preceding 
one,  so  that  when  done  the  whole  presents  two  unequal  rows,  hence  the 
liability  of  splitting  the  soft  pine  in  the  sewing  process  is  lessened.  The 
next  work  is  sewing  the  parts  together.  For  this  a  course  salmon  net 
twine  is  threaded  into  a  needle  used  for  the  purpose,  and  each  cross- 
bar is  s»>wed  to  tln«  corresponding  holes  in  the -runner,  in  and  out  of  the 
holes  on  either  side  of  the  bar  itself,  and  drawn  as  tight  as  possible  j 


574 


REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 


the  needle  then  slips  under  the  twine  through  the  groove  across  the 
inner  pair  of  holes,  and  a  loop  and  a  stout  pull  fasten  it;  thus  each  bar 
is  sewed  on  till  all  are  tight.  The  forward  end  of  each  side  bar  must  be 
strengthened  by  along,  thin  iron  placed  lengthwise  along  the  inner  side 
of  each  bar  and  sewed  tight  to  the  boards.1 

The  sleds  of  the  Iroquois  Indians,  says  Charlevoix,  which  serve  to 
transport  the  baggage  and  in  case  of  necessity  the  sick  and  wounded, 
are  two  small  and  very  thin  boards  half  a  foot  broad  each  and  6  or  7 
feet  long.  The  fore  part  is  somewhat  raised  and  the  sides  bordered 
with  small  bands,  to  which  the  thongs  for  binding  whatever  is  laid  on 
the  carriage  is  fastened.  Let  these  carriages  be  ever  so  much  loaded, 
an  Indian  draws  them  without  difficulty,  by  means  of  a  long  thong  or 
strap,  which  is  passed  round  his  breast. 

They  use  them  likewise  for  carrying  burdens,  and  mothers  for  carry- 
ing their  children  with  their  cradles;  but  in  this  case  the  thong  or 
collar  is  placed  upon  their  forehead,  and  not  on  the  breast.2 

The  line  between  savagery  and  barbarism  puts  the  wheel  on  the  side 
of  the  latter.  Barbarous  man  in  traction  should  therefore  form  a  later 
chapter,  full  of  interest  and  necessary  to  the  whole  history  of  land  trans- 
portation and  travel.  As  late  as  1878  the  only  railroad  in  China  extended 
10  miles  from  the  Kaiping  coal  mines  to  the  sea.  The  motive  power  was 
men,  who  worked  twelve  to  fourteen  hours  and  received  10  cents  a  day. 

SLEDS  IN  THE  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM. 


Museum 
No. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

14800 
74534 
2811 
73018 
46261 
63388-63389 
15597 
15609 

48104 
129323 
30771 
48147 
168567 

49111 
166974 
595 
2042 
570 
1638 
10268 
10378 

Sled,  reindeer,  and  driver  
Sled               

Norway  

University  of  Christiania. 
Centennial  Commission. 
Lieut.  Wilkes,  U.  S.  N. 
Dr.  L.  Stejneger. 
Dr.  T.  H.  Bean. 
E.  W.  Nelson. 
Henry  W.  Elliott 
Do. 

E.  W.  Nelson. 
L.  M.  Turner. 
Do. 
E.  W.  Nelson. 
World's  Columbian  Ex- 
position. 
E.  W.  Nelson. 
J.  H.  Turner. 
B.  R.  Ross. 
Do. 
Do. 
R.  MacFarlane. 
Capt.  C.  F.  Hall. 
f  Do. 

36. 

do  

Kamchatka  

Sled  model          

do  

Sled  runner,  shoe  of  
Dog  sled,  model  

Icy  Cape  

St.  Lawrence  Island  
Poonook,  Alaska  

Sled,  wooden  runners  shod  with 
whale's  bone. 
Sled,  model  

..do         

Norton  Bay,  Alaska  
St.  Michaels,  Alaska  ... 
Norton  Sound,  Alaska.. 

Sled,  model  

Sled  (Ingalik) 

do 

Sled  

Xanana  River,  Alaska.. 
Porcupine  River,  Alaska 

do  

Babicho  sled  line  (Dog  Rib  Indians) 
Reindeer  sled  line  

do  

Dog  sled  (Chippewayan)  .     ..  .... 

Slave  Lake,  Canada  
Mackenzie  Uiver  
Frohisher  liny  
loss's  ship,  Victory,  Re- 
pulse Bay. 

on,  1884,  pp.  145-146. 
orth  America,"  I,  p.  £ 

Sled  (Eskimo)  
Sled  runners  (Eskimo)  
Sled   runners    and    erossbnr   (In- 
nuit). 

1  Stearns,  "  Labrador,"  Boat 
2Ckarlevoix,  "Voyages  to  N 

PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND   TRANSPORTATION. 


575 


SLEDS  ix  THE  U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM — Continued. 


MllSI  -111  II 

No. 

Specimen. 

Locality. 

By  whom  contributed. 

10419 

Whale  jawbone,  used  in  making 

10376 

sli-iU. 
Sled,  mniifr  of  

,(,,  

Capt.  C.  F.  Hall. 

12397 

Sled  runner  (  Kskinio)  

Polaris  Bay  

Dr.  E.  Beasels. 

12363 

do  

do         

Do 

89941 

Sled  (tov)  

Labrador 

1    M    Turner 

90271 

do  

Do 

153511 

do 

531 

Sled,  reindeer  

British  Columbia 

B   R   Rosa 

1639 

Sled  (dog)  Kskimo   '  

R  MacFarlane 

2153 

.  .    do                   

do 

Do 

2676 

Sled  or  traineau  

do 

Do 

7472 

do  

Do 

7473 

Sleds  (2)  

Do 

7474 

Sled  

do 

Do 

532 

Sled  (dog)   model 

K  Kennicott 

1976 

do   

B  R  Rosa 

169044 

Sled  (Eskimo)     

Labrador         

561 

Sled,  boys'  whalebone  runners  

Greenland  

Dr.  J.  J.  Hayes. 

10377 

Sled  (Dr.  Kane's)     

10418 

Sled  model  (Dr.  Kane's)  

do  

'Do. 

127136 

sled   shod  with  iron  

South  Greenland 

Mrs.  Olivia  Pavy. 

168968 

Sled    

East  Greenland  

Dr  Soph  us  Miiller. 

127040 
43920 

Sled,  child  s  (model)  
Sled  

Smith  Sound  
Fort  Ynkon,  Alaska.  .  . 

Dr.  E.  Bessels. 
E.  W.  Nelson. 

7970 

do           

T  T.  Minor. 

15593 
15613 

Sled  runners  (2  ivory  and  2  wood)  .  . 
Sled  shod  with  whalebone  

Poonook,  Bering  Sea  
do  

Henry  W.  Elliott. 
Do. 

15597 

Double  sled,  whale  rib  

do  

Do. 

55889 

Sled,  Eskimo  

.    do  

Chas.  L.  McKay. 

63387 

Sled  (dog)  

do  

E.  W.  Nelson. 

153653 

Sled  (model)  

do    

J.  H.  Turner. 

153054  153655 

Sled  (dog  team)  model  

do  

Do. 

38793 

Sled  (model)  t  

St.  Michaels,  Alaska  

E.  W.  Nelson. 

ROADS  AND  TRAVELERS'  CONVENIENCES. 

To  this  vast  subject  of  going  about  afoot  and  riding,  of  carrying 
singly  and  cooperatively,  and  of  shifting  the  burden  upon  the  backs  of 
beasts,  there  are  subsidiary  conveniences  of  great  importance,  such  as 
the  following,  including  all  activities  covered  by  classes  4  and  5,  men- 
tioned on  page  254. 

1.  Koads  and  bridges,  involving  the  entire  subject  of  primitive 
engineering. 

L'.  Provisions  for  extending  the  length  of  the  journey  and  the  time 
that  may  be  spent  away  from  home. 

3.  Condensed  and  special  food  for  long  trips,  and  travelers'  drugs. 

4.  Natural,  artificial,  and  human  guides. 

6.  Provisions  lor  camping,  resting,  relaying,  sleeping,  feeding  ani- 
mals, etc. 


576  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

6.  Signaling,  postal  service,  and  couriers. 

7.  Measures  of  time  and  distance,  clocks,  calendars,  stations,  mile- 
stones, length  of  journey  and  extent  of  commerce,  etc. 

8.  Apparatus  of  trade,  money. 

9.  Markets,  bazaars,  and  fairs. 

10.  Amnesty  and  laws  of  travel  and  trade.    The  social  organizations, 
laws,  and  customs  involved  in  and  created  by  this  vast  industry. 

None  of  these  topics  can  be  fully  elaborated  here.  Some  of  them 
will  be  considered  and  illustrated  from  material  in  the  Museum  later. 

1.  Roads  and  bridges. — The  U.  S.  National  Museum  has  among  its 
treasures  a  collection  of  primitive  bridges,  to  be  used  in  illustrating  the 
history  of  that  series  of  inventions  which  led  up  to  the  modern  roadbed 
and  railroad.  The  earliest  roadmakers  were  not  engaged  in  casting  up 
highways,  but  in  keeping  them  clear.  The  most  primitive  bridges  were 
logs  or  great  rocks  across  streams,  and,  after  that,  bridges  supported 
on  trees,  posts,  vines,  and  braces,  anticipating  in  a  rude  way  the  pier 
bridge,  the  suspension  bridge,  and  the  cantilever.  Fords  and  portages 
were  a  part  of  this  activity. 

Mankind  had  walked  over  every  habitable  part  of  the  globe  before 
there  was  a  beast  of  burden.  The  trails  laid  down  by  ruminants  were 
adopted  by  man  until  the  earth  was  a  network  of  primitive  roads. 

"Locomotion  among  the  Western  Dene","  says  Morice,  "  is  ordinarily 
by  walking  in  very  narrow  paths,  though  the  Tsil-koh-tin  and  South- 
ern Carriers  now  travel  on  horseback.  More  commonly  the  Carriers 
use  as  highways  the  numerous  lakes  that  dot  the  country  in  summer 
and  winter." 1 

The  obstacles  in  the  way  of  early  travel  and  the  indefatigable  energy 
of  men  in  passing  over  them  are  well  set  forth  in  Mrs.  Bishop's  travels 
among  the  western  Tibetans.  The  following  elements  of  difficult  prim 
itive  travel  are  mentioned  about  the  Shayok  Elver: 

Winter  traffic  along  river  beds  nearly  dry. 

Summer  caravans  laboring  along  difficult  tracks  at  great  heights. 

Climbing  difficult  rock  ladders  and  perilous  stairways. 

Crossing  glaciers  filled  with  yawning  crevasses. 

Eiding  along  precipice  ledges  on  the  yak. 

Leading  baggage  horses  down  precipices,  with  men  holding  the  head 
and  tail  of  each. 

Travelers  and  goods  making  perilous  runs  in  scows,  poled  and  pad- 
dled. 

Swimming  the  animals  through  the  cold  water. 

"We  had,"  writes  Mrs.  Bishop,  "twelve  horses,  all  led.  'Water 
guides'  with  10-foot  poles  sounded  the  rivers  ahead;  one  led  Mr.  Ked- 
slob's  horse  in  front  of  mine  with  a  large  rope,  and  two  more  led  mine, 
while  the  gopas  of  three  villages  and  the  zemindar  steadied  my  horse 
against  the  stream.  *  *  *  All  the  chupas  went  up  and  down  souud- 


1  A.  G.  Morice,  Proc.  Canadian,  Inst.  (Series  3),  vn,  p.  131. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION.  577 

ing  long  before  they  found  a  possible  passage.  All  loads  were  raised 
higher,  the  men  roped  their  soaked  clothing  on  their  shoulders,  water 
was  dashed  at  our  faces,  and  then  with  shouts  the  whole  caravan 
plunged  into  deep  water,  strong  and  almost  ice  cold.  The  traveler 
from  Kashmir  to  Tibet  can  not  be  borne  in  a  carriage  or  a  hill  cart. 
Much  of  the  way  he  is  limited  to  a  foot  path,  and  walks  down  all 
rugged  and  deep  descents  and  dismounts  at  most  bridges.  The  roads 
are  bridle  paths,  worn  by  traffic  alone  across  the  gravelly  valleys,  but 
elsewhere  constructed  with  great  toil  and  expense,  along  narrow  val- 
leys, ravines,  gorges,  and  chasms.  For  miles  at  a  time  this  road  has 
been  blasted  out  of  precipices  from  1,000  to  .'3,000  feet  in  depth,  and  is 
merely  a  ledge  above  a  raging  torrent,  the  worst  parts,  chiefly  those 
around  rocky  projections,  being  scaffolded,  i.  e.,  poles  are  lodged  hori- 
zontally among  tbe  crevices  of  the  cliff",  and  the  roadway  of  slabs, 
planks,  and  brushwood  or  branches  and  sods  is  laid  loosely  upon  them. 
This  track  is  always  wide  enough  for  a  loaded  beast,  but  in  many  places, 
when  two  caravans  meet,  the  animals  of  one  must  give  way  and  scram- 
ble up  the  mountain  side."1 

In  a  subsequent  paper  trails,  roads,  portages,  and  bridges,  especially 
of  aboriginal  America,  will  be  more  fully  treated. 

2.  Increasing  the  lentjtli  and  the  time  of  journeys. — There  are  many 
regions  of  the  earth  that  were  positively  inaccessible  to  primitive  man ; 
but  there  are  also  vast  tracts  that,  while  they  are  uninhabitable,  are  yet 
accessible  and  may  be  crossed.  A  part  of  the  history  of  travel  relates 
to  invading  and  traversing  these  spaces.  If  there  had  been  no  such 
intervals,  there  would  have  been  little  travel.  As  we  have  a  modulus 
of  early  culture  in  the  depths  at  which  people  might  operate  in  the 
earth  or  in  the  sea,  so  we  have  another  in  the  length  of  journeys  and 
the  number  of  months  or  years  that  would  be  devoted  to  a  single  round 
or  excursion  in  walking,  packing,  boating,  sledging,  or  with  flocks  and 
herds.  These  distances  in  modern  commerce  constitute  the  haul  be- 
tween producer  and  consumer. 

Birds  of  passage  made  formerly  longer  journeys  than  men,  and  the 
length  of  their  migrations  in  time  and  distance  was  equaled,  perhaps, 
by  those  of  fishes  and  marine  mammals.  The  motives  which  governed 
the  movements  of  these  creatures  were  very  simple,  but  these  same 
constituted  the  incentive  to  human  movements  over  the  earth.  The 
coming  and  going  of  birds  and  marine  creatures  are  likewise  the  occa- 
sion of  an  enormous  amount  of  human  bustle  and  running  about. 
Most  of  the  domestication  of  animals  is  caused  by  a  desire  to  have 
them  at  our  doors,  and  to  make  us  independent  of  their  migrations. 

In  addition  to  the  great  migrations  of  aerial  and  marine  creatures, 
many  land  animals  were  often  obliged  by  natural  conditions  to  travel 
great  distances;  and  the  inquiry  is  also  concerning  the  self-imposed 


Mrs.  Hislmp.   "Among  the  Tilx-tans,"  Chicago,  1894,  pp.  36,  76. 
II.  Mis.  90,  pt.  L» 37 


578  REPORT   OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

loads  of  men  and  the  distances  to  which  they  bore  them  in  order  to  fol- 
low the  caribou,  the  buffalo,  the  elephant,  etc.,  for  the  purpose  of  living 
upon  them. 

All  of  these  combine  to  give  confidence  to  men,  to  enlarge  their  cos- 
mogony and  to  stimulate  the  cooperative  activities  which  make  it  possi- 
ble to  go  away  farther  and  return. 

In  every  tribe  there  are  stories  of  travelers  who  have  made  long  voy- 
ages and  returned.  Dr.  Boas  says  that  the  myths  of  the  northwest 
coast  of  America  point  across  the  Pacific;  all  of  them  are  Odysseys. 
Besides  that  class  of  traditions  which  fix  upon  tbe  present  habitat  as 
the  primal  home,  there  is  another  class  of  migration  myths.  One 
school  of  interpretation  may  appreciate  and  another  depreciate  the 
real  length  of  the  migration.  That  is  not  mooted  here.  They  are 
migration  myths,  and  relate  to  wanderings. 

The  U.  S.  National  Museum  comes  in  contact  with  such  by  its  collec- 
tions of  mythological  material — carvings,  totem  posts,  paintings,  marks 
on  pottery,  masks,  dress,  figures  on  boats,  paddles,  carrying  baskets, 
and  even  in  the  stitch  or  mesh  in  weaving.  The  length  of  a  sled  or  of 
a  boat,  the  number  of  parts  to  a  dog  harness,  the  existence  of  certain 
kinds  of  packing  cases,  the  calendar,  and  many  other  objects  which 
the  curator  has  to  handle  every  day,  are  in  fact  metric  apparatus  to 
indicate  how  far  away  the  owners  are  bold  enough  to  go. 

Again,  the  perfecting  of  devices  prolongs  the  day's  travel.  Nauseu 
tells  of  a  kaiak  journey  of  80  miles  in  a  single  day,  and  Schwatka  said 
in  a  lecture  that  he  had  made  over  a  hundred  miles  in  one  continuous 
excursion  with  a  company  of  Eskimo.1 

The  East  Greenlanders  journey  around  to  West  Greenland  to  get 
snuff',  and  will  consume  four  years  in  a  single  excursion  there  and  back. 
Nansen  says  that  they  often  remain  no  longer  than  an  hour  at  the 
trading  station  and  then  take  up  their  homeward  inarch. 

The  Manchu  and  Manyarg  who  navigate  the  Sungari  are  said  to 
spend  eight  days  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  to  Sansin;  and  the  voy- 
age to  Tsitsikar  or  Mergen  requires  a  month.  They  either  tow  their 
boats  from  the  land  or  push  them  along  with  long  poles.2 

The  Tuski,  near  East  Cape,  undertake  journeys  to  Koliina  occupying 
six  months,  and  to  other  points  requiring  four  months.1  Wrangell 
supposed  that  some  men  passed  their  lives  thus,  but  Hooper  does  not 
seem  to  be  of  this  opinion.  The  journeys  are  undertaken  with  reindeer 
and  large  covered  sleds.  Furs  and  ivory  are  taken  to  be  exchanged 
for  tobacco,  beads,  knives,  prints,  sugar,  spirits,  etc.4 

Formerly,  says  Seton-Karr,  the  different  tribes  of  northwest  British 
Columbia  were  afraid  to  quit  their  tribal  territory,  but  now  Indians 


'F.  Nansen,  "The  First  Crossing  of  Greenland,"  London,  i,  p.  367;  11,  p. 436. 
2Ravenstein,  "Russians  on  the  Amur,"  London,  1861,  p.  261. 
3Hooper,  "Tents  of  the  Tuski,"  London,  1853,  p.  185. 
'Ibid.,  p.  186. 


PRIMITIVE   TRAVEL    AND   TRANSPORTATION.  579 

can  be  found  willing  to  accompany  the  white  mafri  through  regions  that 
are  as  strange  and  unknown  to  them  as  to  him.  Some,  for  instance, 
have  accompanied  miners  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Yukon,  and 
returned  home  by  way  of  San  Francisco.1 

The  extent  and  direction  of  aboriginal  journeys  and  commerce  have 
been  in  one  place  cut  off,  in  another  greatly  stimulated,  by  contact 
with  the  Caucasian  race.  Certainly  in  Canada  the  fur  bearing  animals 
were  soon  killed  about  the  trading  establishments,  and  the  Indians 
were  stimulated  to  make  greater  and  greater  excursions  into  the 
wilderness  and  from  the  wilderness  to  the  trading  posts.- 

3.  Travelers'  food  and  drug*. — Condensed  food  and    stimulants  are 
necessary  to  a  long  journey,  and  the  invention  of  them  has  incited 
much  ingenuity.    So  frozen  food  in  the  north  is  succeeded  by  pemmican 
and  this  by  meal,  cassava,  taro,  tsamba,  or  what  not.  in  order  that  a 
great  deal  could  be  put  into  a  small  space. 

The  U.  S.  National  Museum  has  made  a  large  collection  of  this  packed 
and  condensed  travelers' food,  and  among  the  specimens  illustrating  early 
medicine  are  many  of  the  strength-sustaining  drugs  among  savages/' 

The  Indians  of  southern  Yucatan,  according  to  Morelet,  never  set 
out  on  any  expedition  without  a  supply  of  pozol.  This  is  maize  made 
into  a  kind  of  paste,  sweetened  with  sugar  to  suit  the  taste,  and  when 
mixed  with  water  serves  at  once  for  food  and  drink.  It  is  at  the  same 
time  the  most  economical  and  portable  kind  of  provision  for  a  journey.4 

Chocolate,  says  Humboldt,  is  easily  couveyed  and  readily  employed. 
As  an  aliment  it  contains  a  large  quantity  of  nutritive  and  stimulating 
particles  in  a  small  compass.  It  has  been  said  with  truth  that,  in  the 
East,  rice,  guin,  and  ghee  (clarified  butter)  assist  man  in  crossing  the 
deserts;  and  so,  in  the  New  World,  chocolate  and  flour  of  maize  have 
rendered  accessible  to  the  traveler  the  table-lands  of  the  Andes  and 
vast  uninhabited  forests.5 

4.  Guides,  natural  and  human. — Nowadays  the  steel  rail  holds  the 
vehicle  smoothly  and  directly  to  its  course,  and  on  the  waters  artificial 
buoys,  light-houses,  and  apparatus  for  ooserving  the  heavenly  bodies 
and  for  steering  do  almost  as  well  for  the  ship. 

Primitive  men  were  not  without  their  folk  astronomy,  instincts,  nat- 
ural pilots,  and  experiences.  They  also  knew  how  to  keep  the  traveler 
or  the  boat  on  a  direct  way.  Winds  blow,  waters  run,  natural  objects 
animate  and  inanimate  on  which  man  depends  move  and  have  their 
areas  of  dispersion. 

1 H.  W.  Seton-Karr,  Proc.  Roy.  Geog.  Soc.,  London,  1891,  xm,  p.  73. 

sMackenzie,  "Voyages  from  Montreal  through  the  Continent  of  North  America," 
Philadelphia,  1802,  p.  i.  On  lengthening  the  journey,  consult  also  W.  C.  Bouipas, 
"Northern  Lights  on  tbe  Bible,"  London,  1894,  pp.  63-68. 

iCf.  Index-Catalogue  Surg.  General's  Library,  Washington,  s.  v. 

'Morelet,  "Travels  in  Yucatan,"  New  York,  1871,  p.  tifi. 

»J3ohn,  "Travels  to  the  Equinoctial  Regions  of  America,"  London,  1852,  II,  p.  59. 


580  REPORT   OF   NATIONAL   MUSEUM,  1894. 

It  has  been  said  that?  the  islanders  of  the  Pacific  wandered  after  all 
automatically  about  and  settled  their  archipelagos.1 

Above  this  unconscious  guidance  there  is  an  accumulation  of  folk- 
lore and  folk  experiences  in  all  savages  that  are  truly  the  marvel  of  all 
intelligent  travelers. 

Moreover,  there  is  a  sign  language  of  travel.  The  Africans  had  one 
system,  the  Americans  another.  It  is  an  interesting  group  in  the 
U.  S.  National  Museum,  merging  on  one  side  into  music,  on  the  other 
into  the  apparatus  of  war. 

Early  in  September,  1513,  says  Helps,  Vascp  Nunez  set  out  on  his 
renowned  expedition  for  finding  the  "  other  sea,"  accompanied  by  190 
men  well  armed,  and  by  dogs,  which  were  of  more  avail  than  men,  and  by 
Indian  slaves  to  carry  the  burdens.  He  went  by  sea  to  the  territory 
of  his  father-in-law,  King  Careta,  by  whom  he  was  well  received,  and 
accompanied  by  whose  Indians  he  moved  on  into  Poncha's  territory. 
This  cacique  took  flight,  as  he  had  done  before,  seeking  refuge  among  his 
mountains ;  but  Vasco  Nunez,  whose  first  thought  in  his  present  under- 
taking was  discovery,  not  conquest,  sent  messengers  to  Poncha, 
promising  not  to  injure  him.  The  Indian  chief  listened  to  these  over- 
tures and  came  to  Vasco  Nunez  with  gold  in  his  hands.  He  did  no 
harm  to  Poncha,  and,  on  the  contrary,  secured  his  friendship  by  pre- 
senting him  with  looking-glasses,  hatchets,  and  hawks'  bells,  in  return 
for  which  he  obtained  guides  and  porters  from  among  this  cacique's 
people,  and  was  enabled  to  prosecute  his  journey. 

Following  Poncha's  guides,  Vasco  Nunez  and  his  men  commenced 
the  ascent  of  the  mountains  until  he  entered  the  country  of  an  Indian 
chief  called  Quarequa,  whom  they  found  fully  prepared  to  resist  them.2 

Balboa  on  arriving  at  the  coast  of  the  Pacific  in  1543  "seems  to  have 
heard  of  a  wealthy  tribe  who  lived  on  the  seacoast  far  to  the  south  and 
used  large  sheep  as  beasts  of  burden.3  *  *  *  The  supposition  that 
accounts  of  Peru  had  reached  the  Isthmus,  notwithstanding  the  great 
distance,  involves  nothing  impossible." 

Quite  as  much  as  shepherds  watching  their  flocks,  travelers  and  car- 
riers have  watched  the  stars,  mapped  out  the  heavens,  and  guided  their 
way  on  land  and  water  by  the  celestial  lanterns. 

The  Eskimo  in  traveling  use  the  north  star  as  a  guide.  Their 
knowledge  of  seasons  is  also  wonderful.  The  seasons  have  distinctive 
names,  and  these  are  divided  into  a  great  number,  of  which  there  are 
more  during  the  warm  weather  than  during  the  winter.4 

Roger  Williams  says,  "The  wildernesse  being  so  vast,  it  is  a  mercy, 
that  for  a  hire  a  Man  shall  never  want  guides,  who  will  carry  provisions 

'"Die  nnfreiwillige  Wanderungeu  im  Stillen  Ozean,"  Petermann's  Mittheilnugen, 
1894.  H 

2 Helps,  "The  Spanish  Conquest  in  America,"  New  York,  1856,  i,  p.  340. 

3Bandelier,  "The  Gilded  Man,"  New  York,  1893,  p.  5,  quoting  Herrern,  Dec.  i,  Lib. 
x,  Cap.  in. 

*  Lucieu  Turner,  Eleventh  Ann.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  p.  202. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  581 

and  such  as  hire  them  over  Rivers  and  Brookes,  and  find  out  often- 
times hunting  houses  or  other  lodgings  at  night. 

"I  have  heard  of  many  English  lost  and  have  oft  been  lost  my  selfe, 
and  my  selfe  and  others  have  been  often  found  and  succoured  by  the 
Indians.1  *  *  * 

"They  are  so  excellently  skilled  in  all  the  bowels  of  the  Countrey  (by 
reason  of  their  hunting)  that  I  have  often  been  guided  twentie.  thirtir. 
yea,  sometimes  forty  miles  through  the  woods  a  streight  course,  out  ol 
my  path.*' 

5.  Provisions  for  camping  on  the  road. — Lengthening  a  journey 
beyond  the  endurance  of  a  single  effort  involves  the  putting  down  of 
the  load  and  resting.  The  steps  in  the  progress  of  invention  leading 
up  to  the  resting  and  relaying  elements  of  many  modern  cities  seem 
to  have  been — 

1.  .Modifying  the  packing  apparatus  so  that  it  could  l>e  laid  aside 
ami  resumed  with  least  effort. 

-.  Carrying  the  means  of  providing  temporary  bed,  shelter,  lire,  food, 
and  defense. 

3.  On  the  establishment  of  regular  trails,  temporary  shelters  were 
provided,  which  the  traveler  might  use  and  proceed.     No  attendants 
were  needed. 

4.  Caravansaries,  where  for  a  fee  the  traveler  and  porter  might  sleep 
and  be  fed,  and  where  his  commodities  could  be  safely  housed  from 
thieves. 

5.  Hostelries,  villages,  repair  shops,  stores — in  short,  tin-  >etting  up 
of  a  travel  center. 

Aboriginal  hospitality  had  its  first  motive  largely  in  the  traveling 
industry,  and  its  abolition  was  caused  by  the  superabundance  of  travel 
causing  the  existence  of  hostelries  and  guilds  relating  thiTHo.  rivaling 
a  public  sentiment  against  receiving  strangers  free  of  charge. 

The  methods  adopted  by  the  Central  American  Indians  when  pre- 
paring to  pass  the  night  upon  an  open  savanna  were  instructive.  In 
the  first  instance  they  placed  upon  the  ground  a  quantity  of  broad  dry 
leaves  to  protect  them  from  the  damp  grass.  They  then  dispersed,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  the  adjacent  forest  resounded  with  the  noise  of  the 
blows  made  by  their  machetes.  They  returned  bearing  loads  of  fire- 
wood and  also  several  strong  forked  branches.  These  they  sharpened 
at  one  end  and  fixed  into  the  earth  near  the  camping  place  to  form 
supports  to  carry  the  bales  of  tobacco.  In  this  manner  the  cargo  was 
raised  about  .'i  feet,  and  thus  they  carried  out  the  invariable  rule  of  the 
Indians,  who  never  leave  anything  upon  the  ground  at  night.  They 
then  lighted  a  large  fire.2  The  tambo  of  Peru  was  a  hut  of  refuge  along 
the  public  trails  and  highways  across  the  despoblader  or  desert  regions. 

1  Roger  Williams,  Coll.  R.  I.  Hist.  Soc.,  i,  p.  72,  with  vocabulary  for  guide,  hire,  etc., 
with  derivatives. 

'Brine,  " The  American  Indiana,  Their  Earthworks  and  Temples,"  Luudou,  1849, 
pp.  291-292. 


582  REPORT   OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

Mr.  im  Thurn  speaks  of  the  Indians  who  accompanied  him  in  Guiana 
as  lying  in  hammocks  under  which  fires  were  lighted.  But  they  also 
compelled  the  boys  to  take  lighted  palm  leaves  and  singe  them  as  they 
lay  in  their  hammocks  to  destroy  savage  insects.1 

(>.  Signals,  couriers,  and  posts. — The  U.  S.  National  Museum  has  an 
interesting  collection  relating  to  conveying  information  for  and  by 
travel.  The  emergencies  of  the  growing  state,  as  in  Peru,  demanded 
that  the  central  power  should  be  more  rapidly  informed.  The  separate 
elements  in  the  problem  before  the  early  man  were  the  following : 

1.  To  substitute  for  the  long  walk  a  succession  of  quick  runs — 
couriers. 

l'.  To  have  trained  professionals  with  road  conveniences  and  guard — 
posts. 

3.  To  have  an  esoteric  sign  language  to  the  eye  and  to  the  ear,  by 
which  information  maybe  conveyed  to  the  traveler  as  he  goes  along,  by 
which  one  traveler  may  leave  word  for  another  or,  finally,  to  get  rid  of  the 
traveler  altogether  by  a  system  of  telephoning  or  of  visible  speech. 

Langsdorff  mentions  the  use  of  fire  signals  in  Japan.  "  In  defiance 
of  the  interdict  the  fishermen  informed  us  that  four  days  before  intelli- 
gence was  communicated  to  Nagasaki  by  fires  in  the  night  of  a  three- 
masted  vessel  being  off  the  coast;  that  at  our  appearance  oft'  the  har- 
bor information  of  it  was  conveyed  by  a  post  of  observation  upon  the 
nearest  hill."2 

"The  Micinacs  have  a  system  of  communicating  while  in  the  woods. 
Sticks  are  placed  in  the  ground;  a  cut  on  one  of  them  indicates  that  a 
message  in  picture  writing  on  a  piece  of  bark  is  hidden  near  by  under 
a  stone.  The  direction  in  which  the  stick  leans  from  its  base  upward 
indicates  that  in  which  the  party  moved,  and  thus  serves  as  a  conven- 
ient hint  to  those  who  follow  to  keep  oft'  their  hunting  ground."  : 

The  method  of  the  Karankawa  of  communicating  with  each  other 
when  parties  were  at  a  distance  was  by  smoke.  By  some  means  known 
only  to  themselves,  and  carefully  kept  secret,  the  smoke  of  a  small  fire 
could  be  made  to  ascend  in  many  different  ways,  as  intelligible  as 
spoken  language  to  them.  At  night  the  horizon  was  often  dotted  in 
various  directions  with  these  little  fires,  and  the  messages  thus  con- 
veyed seemed  to  govern  the  movements  of  the  Indians.4 

Das  Ausland  for  February,  1889,  et  seq.,  has  a  very  interesting 
article  by  Robert  Muller  on  "  Life  and  Occupation  in  the  Cameroon," 
in  which  a  curious  instrument  is  thus  described :  A  log  is  hollowed 
out  and  is  divided  along  the  transverse  diameter  by  a  bridge,  upon 
which  a  drumstick  is  beaten  to  produce  sounds  of  different  tones. 
This  rather  unpromising  instrument  becomes  of  great  importance  as 


1  "Indians  of  British  Guiana,"  London,  1883,  p.  12. 

2  Langsdorff,  "  Voyages  and  Travels,"  London,  1813,  i,  p.  220. 
*S.  Hager,  Am.  Anthropologist,  Washington,  1895,  vin,  p.  31. 
iQatachet,  "The  Karaukawa  Indians,"  Cambridge,  1891,  p.  19. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  583 

a  means  of  communication  and  may,  in  fact,  be  called  a  "  drum  tele- 
graph." The  villages  are  situated  comparatively  close  together,  and 
by  means  of  the  drum  news  is  communicated  rapidly  from  one  village 
to  another.  A  regular  drum  language  has  been  invented,  and  this  can 
be  imitated  with  the  mouth  or  beaten  on  the  breast,  so  that  conversa- 
tion can  be  carried  on  by  the  natives  in  the  presence  of  white  men 
without  the  latter  understanding  it,  though  comprehending  the  spoken 
language.  The  drum  also  serves  the  ordinary  purpose  of  an  instru 
meiit  to  dance  by,  etc." 

The  Jivaros  practice  a  system  of  telephony,  which  has  at  all  times 
been  very  dangerous  to  their  adversaries  in  war,  by  giving  strokes  on 
the  "tunduli,"  a  large  drum,  which  is  heard  from  house  to  house  and 
passed  on  from  hill  to  hill.  The  houses  are  all  over  their  territories  at 
convenient  distance  for  the  purpose;  and  in  this  manner  very  varied 
information  is  conveyed  in  a  few  moments  to  all  the,  families  of  hordes 
dispersed  over  a  large  extent  of  country.  This  was  the  greatest 
danger  the  Spaniards  had  to  contend  with,  and  is  still  a  main  source 
of  protection  to  these  Indians,  as  they  can  rouse  a  large  number  at  a 
moment's  notice  and  sound  the  alarm  through  entire  hordes.-' 

The  messenger,  mail  carrier,  dispatch  bearer,  professional  courier,  is 
equipped  and  exercised  after  the  manner  of  the  traveler.  Altogether 
these  men  are  a  device  like  a  machine,  transforming  numbers  of  men 
into  velocity. 

To  develop  an  extensive  system  of  couriers  in  ancient  times,  extended 
territory  and  a  strong  central  government  were  needed.  Hence  the 
Greeks,  having  a  small  territory  and  disunited  states,  were  not  moved 
to  establish  any  such  institution. 

In  very  early  times  among  the  Egyptians  there  were  provisions  for 
the  conveyance  of  letters;  but  their  system  of  rapid  communication,  if 
they  had  any,  is  not  revealed. 

Rome,  on  the  other  hand,  and  especially  under  the  Empire,  had,  as 
will  be  seen,  roads  through  all  the  territories  they  conquered.  Besides 
the  marching  of  armies  over  them  and  the  general  traffic,  these  roads 
were  the  means  of  continuous  and  rapid  intelligence. 

Among  the  Italian  allies  of  Rome,  officials  on  public  business  imposed 
any  conditions  they  chose  on  the  people  along  their  way,  such  as  fur- 
nishing food,  lodging,  fresh  beasts,  and  even  transport.  Senators  or 
ministers  carried  a  mandate  to  subjects  and  allies  to  supply  them  with 
all  necessaries  for  the  journey.  For  the  purposes  of  dispatches  there 
were  a  variety  of  men  and  methods.  These  are  well  worked  out  in 
Smith's  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities,  third  edition, 
under  the  phrase  cursus  publicm.  Such  terms  as  couriers,  messengers, 
mounted  couriers,  stations,  or  relays  (mutationes),  postal  stations  (man- 
M?ane#),  conductors,  guards,  drivers,  beasts  of  burden  or  conveyance, 


1 H.  W.  Henshaw,  Am.  Anthropologist,  HI,  p.  292. 
8  A,  SirntoD,  Journ,  Anthrop.  Inat.,  1880,  May,  p.  387. 


584  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

rolling  stock,  passports,  smack  of  the  road  and  great  movements  of 
people  and  money  and  goods.  We  read  that  the  communities  were 
bound  to  furnish  and  .maintain  the  teams  and  to  keep  the  stables  in 
repair.  They  had  further  to  secure  the  services  of  muleteers,  mule 
doctors,  wheelwrights,  grooms,  and  conductors  (vehicularii).  To  organ- 
ize and  to  keep  moving  such  complicated  machinery  required  excellent 
management  and  training.  From  such  a  well-defined  system  backward 
to  more  primitive  methods  constitutes  the  early  history  of  culture  in 
this  regard.1 

The  Persian  Empire  under  Darius,  son  of  Hystaspes,  affords  the 
earliest  instance  of  a  national  postal  service.  Mention  is  made  of  a 
class  called  symmaci  as  existing  in  the  most  ancient  times  among  the 
Egyptians  for  the  conveyance  of  letters  by  land.2  In  Persia  horsemen 
stationed  at  intervals,  and  relieving  one  another,  conveyed  the  imperial 
will  in  all  directions  from  Susa,  Ecbatana,  or  Babylon. 

u  The  post  is  carried  by  Lapps  and  reindeer  overland  in  Finmarlan 
from  Alten  to  Vadso,  Kautokeeno,  Karasjok,  and  other  points  in  the 
Arctic,  and  it  rarely  fails  to  arrive  on  schedule  time." 3 

Langsdorff  thus  speaks  of  travel  in  America  at  the  beginning  of  the 
century.  In  consequence  .of  an  entire  failure  of  communication  by 
water,  that  by  land  exceeds  what  anyone  could  expect.  Posts  go  regu- 
larly from  Yera  Cruz  to  all  the  provinces  of  North  and  South  America. 
A  courier  comes  in  about  two  months  from  Mexico  to  San  Francisco, 
the  farthest  establishment  to  the  north.  It  commonly  brings  the  news 
from  Europe  of  about  six  months  back.  From  San  Francisco  anyone 
may  travel  with  the  greatest  safety,  even  to  Chile;  there  are  stations 
all  the  way  kept  by  soldiers.4 

On  the  lofty  plateau  of  Yilque,  between  Puno  and  La  Paz,  says 
Wiener,  there  are  regular  couriers.  The  master  of  the  post  has  in  his 
stable  several  mules  and  in  his  service  chasqui  who  are  accompanied  by 
their  women.  This  service  is  well  done.  At  2  kilometers  from  the  sta- 
tion the  courier  sounds  on  his  horn,  and  beasts  are  put  in  the  post  road 
to  be  ready  when  the  chasqui  arrives.  Only  half  an  hour  is  lost  at  the 
station.5 

7.  Metrical  appliances. — In  many  places  and  ways  transportation  has 
been  a  promoter  of  invention  for  metrical  appliances.  The  pack  load 
of  a  man  is  a  unit  of  weight  in  Africa  and  America.  Layard  says  that 
wheat  and  barley  in  Armenia  are  sold  by  the  camel  load,  nearly  480 
pounds.  It  is  said  that  Charles  V  amused  himself  with  clocks  when 


1  Beare,  in  Smith's  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities,  s.  v.  Vehicularii 
Cursus  Publicus. 

2  Ibid. 

3  Rasmus  B.  Anderson,  Senate  Ex.  Doc.  No.  73,  Fifty-third  Congress,  second  session, 
p.  148. 

4 Langsdorff,  "Voyages  and  Travels,"  London,  1814,  ii,  p.  207. 
6 Wiener,  "Pe'rou  et  Bolivie,"  p.  392.    On  the  whole  subject  of  signals,  cf.  Mallery, 
Fourth  Ann.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL   AND    TRANSPORTATION.  585 

his  mind  became  enfeebled.  But  some  one  remarks  that  his  study  of 
clocks  was  a  profound  appreciation  on  his  part  of  the  fact  that  his 
ships  could  go  no  farther  until  his  clocks  ran  better. 

Almanacs  or  records  of  the  days  of  the  year  and  clocks  or  artificial 
devices  for  recording  time  of  day  must  necessarily  have  occurred  to 
those  who  had  to  get  about  more  forcibly  than  to  those  who  stayed  at 
home.  Indeed,  antedating  the  invention  of  weights  and  measures  was 
the  art  of  counting,  or  simple  arithmetic.  The  systems  of  counting 
were  greatly  improved  by  the  art  of  transportation.  The  thousands  of 
tally  clerks  on  the  docks  belong  to  an  old  race,  older  than  their  demure 
prototypes  on  Egyptian  monuments  keeping  the  tale  of  bricks. 

Vaca  says  that  the  Indians  of  a  tribe  he  visited  gave  him  "  2,000 
back  loads  of  corn."  The  back  load  was  therefore  the  unit  of  measure.1 

"They  are  punctuall  in  measuring  their  Day  by  the  Sunne,  and 
their  Night  by  the  Moon  and  the  Starres,  and  their  lying  much  abroad 
in  the  ayre;  and  so  living  in  the  open  fields,  occasioneth  even  the 
youngest  among  them  to  be  very  observant  of  those  heavenly  lights."3 

While  exchange  and  all  its  mechanism  constitute  a  separate  body  of 
industry,  it  can  not  be  denied  that  weights  and  measures  set  agoing  a 
large  fraction  of  these  activities.  Before  things  can  be  bartered,  some 
one  must  go  and  get  them  for  that  purpose ;  he  must  bear  them  to  and 
fro  or  to  stated  meeting  places,  and  arrive  on  time.  Commerce  instigates 
very  largely  the  ransacking  of  the  earth  and  the  manufacture  of  her  raw 
materials.  All  these,  as  well  as  barter  at  every  point,  regulated  most  of 
the  travel  and  carrying,  by  perfecting  clocks  and  calendars. 

The  early  conquests  of  the  Assyrians  in  India  had  enabled  the 
Indians  to  carry  on  a  great  trade  in  ivory,  and  from  them  the  Tyrians 
drew  their  ivory  for  the  great  throne  of  Solomon.  "The  men  of  Dedan 
were  thy  merchants,  they  brought  thee  for  a  present  horns  of  ivory  and 
ebony"  (Ezekiel,  xxviii,  15;  Isaiah,  xxi,  13).3 

The  inhabitants  of  the  settlements  about  the  mouth  of  the  Anadyr 
divide  their  time  in  summer  between  fishing  and  hunting  the  wild 
reindeer,  which  make  annual  migrations  across  the  river  in  immense 
herds.  In  winter  they  are  generally  absent  with  their  sledges,  visiting 
and  trading  with  the  wandering  Chukchi  going  with  merchandise  to 
the  great  annual  fair  at  Kolima.4  The  reindeer  is  their  calendar. 

The  Giliak  of  the  Tymy  collect  immense  stores  of  frozen  fish,  not 
only  as  food  for  themselves  and  their  dogs  during  winter,  but  also  as  an 
object  of  trade  with  the  Aino,  Orochon,  and  Giliak  of  the  coast  and 
mainland,  and  the  Maugun  of  the  Amur.  The  Aiuo  bring  to  the  valley 
of  the  Tymy  at  stated  seasons  Japanese  goods,  the  Orochon  furs,  the 
others  copper,  seals,  Russian  and  Manchu  merchandise.5 


1  Davis,  "Spanish  Conquest  of  New  Mexico,"  p.  105. 

8  Roger  Williams,  Coll.  R.  I.  Hist.  Soc.,  I,  p.  67. 

3  Hart,  "Animals  of  the  Bible,"  London,  1888,  p.  91. 

*  Kennan,  "Tent  Life  in  Siberia,"  p.  288. 

6Ravensteiu,  "Russians  on  the  Amur,"  London,  1861,  p.  271. 


586  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

Hooper  says  that  the  Tuski  exchange  skins  of  the  reindeer  and  a 
small  portion  of  the  meat  for  sealskins,  whale,  walrus  and  seal's  flesh, 
tusks,  sinews,  etc.,  all  of  which  are  much  less  valuable  than  their  own 
commodities.  Sealskins  they  need  for  marine  employments,  as  those  of 
the  reindeer  are  destroyed  by  salt  water;  the  aliens  require  deerskins 
for  hut  furniture.1 

A  company  of  hunters  in  1646  sailed  down  the  Kolima  Eiver  to  the 
Polar  Sea.  East  of  the  Kolima  they  fell  in  with  the  Chukchi,  with 
whom  they  dealt  in  this  way:  They  laid  down  their  goods  on  the  beach 
and  then  retired,  on  which  the  Chukchi  came  thither,  took  the  goods, 
and  laid  furs,  walrus  tusks,  or  carvings  in  walrus  ivory,  in  their  place. 

Herodotus  already  states  in  Book  iv,  chapter  196,  that  the  Cartha- 
genians  bartered  goods  in  the  same  way  with  a  tribe  living  on  the  coast 
of  Africa,  beyond  the  gates  of  Hercules.  The  same  mode  of  barter  or 
commerce  by  deposit  was  still  in  use  nearly  two  thousand  years  later, 
when  the  west  coast  of  Africa  was  visited  by  the  Venetian,  Cadamosto, 
in  1454.2 

Hooper  saw  in  the  hands  of  an  Eskimo  at  Barter  Island  an  example  of 
the  knife  called  "  dague,"  obtained  from  Hudson  Bay  Company's  Indians.3 

Since  the  beginning  of  our  century  European  fleets  have  visited  the 
west  shore  of  Baffin  Bay  and  Davis  Strait,  and  thus  manufactures  from 
that  country  have  found  their  way  to  the  inhospitable  shores  of  the 
Arctic  Sea.  The  most  valuable  articles  which  were  bartered  were 
metals  and  wood.  The  value  of  the  former  may  be  seen  in  its  economi- 
cal application  for  knives  and  harpoon  heads. 4 

The  ordinary  trade  of  the  Eskimo  is  purely  primitive,  people  going 
to  the  sources  to  procure  the  commodity.  But  Murdoch  tells  of  a  com- 
pany of  more  southern  natives  who  brought  a  boat  load  of  skins  of  the 
bearded  seal  to  Point  Barrow  for  sale,  to  be  used  to  cover  Umiaks.5 

The  very  simplest  form  of  commerce  on  the  western  continent  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  in  the  hands  of  peddlers;  but  certain  necessary 
articles  like  salt  and  other  minerals  existed  in  mines  or  quarries  situated 
inside  the  boundaries  of  certain  tribes.  The  owner  did  not  dig  the 
material  and  carry  it  about  to  sell  or  exchange  it,  but  the  people  who 
wanted  the  article  had  to  go  after  it  and  pay  some  kind  of  tribute  for 
the  privilege.  Thus,  the  Tanos  held  the  veins  of  turquoise  or  kalaite  at 
Cerillos.  The  Teguas,  Piros,  and  Zunis  were  settled  near  salt  marshes. 
The  Queres  of  San  Felipe  had  in  front  of  their  village  large  veins  of 
mineral  paint,  for  adorning  pottery. 

According  to  Bandolier,  in  1540,  the  Pecos  Indians  came  to  Zufii 

'Hooper,  "Tents  of  the  Tnski;'-  Loudon,  1853,  p.  35. 

-Kamusio,  "Navigation!  et  Viaggi,"  i,  1588,  leaf  100;  Nordenskiold,  "Voyage  of 
the  Vega,"  New  York,  1882,  p.  453. 
3 "  Tents  of  the  Tuski,"  London,  1853,  p.  257. 
4  Sixth  Ann.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  p.  466. 
6  Ninth  Ann.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  pp.  44-55. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  587 

with  buffalo  hides.  The  people  of  Acoina  exchanged  cotton  mantles 
against  deerskin  with  theNavajo;  the  Utes  traded  atTaos;  the  Apaclies 
of  the  Plains  caiue  to  Pecos  \\ -ith  buffalo  robes.  The  Pecos  people  did 
not  allow  the  Apache  to  enter  their  village.  They  even  kept  a  watch 
with  trumpets. ' 

The  Wyanddts  bartered  the  surplus  of  their  mai/e  fields  to  surround- 
ing tribes,  receiving  fish  in  exchange.  The  Jesuits  styled  their  country 
(Lower  Canada)  the  granary  of  the  Algonquian.* 

As  evidence  of  traffic  in  the  mound-building  period,  Professor  Put- 
nam instances  tinding  obsidian  knives.  Now  this  material  belongs 
stratigraphically  in  the  Yellowstone  Park  or  in  the  Colorado  Valley  or 
in  Mexico.  He  found  also  mica  from  North  Carolina,  gold,  silver, 
meteoric  iron,  alligator's  teeth,  and  shells  from  the  (lulf  of  Mexico. 

The  trade  between  Ottawa  River  and  Hudson  Bay  is  mentioned  by 
the  Jesuits/' 

"Among  themselves  they  trade  their  Corne,  Skins,  Coates,  Venison, 
Fish,  and  sometimes  come  ten  or  twenty  in  a  company  to  trade  amongst 
the  English.  They  have  some  who  follow  onely  making  of  Howes,  some 
Arrowes,  some  Dishes  (the  women  make  all  their  Earthen  vessells) 
some  follow  fishing,  some  hunting,  most  on  the  seaside  make  money  and 
Store  up  shells  in  Summer  against  Winter  whereof  to  make  money."4 

Breckeuridge  remarks  that  the  Louisiana  nations  have  considerable 
trade  or  traffic  with  each  other.  The  Sioux  have  for  this  purpose  regu 
lar  fairs  or  assemblages  at  stated  periods.  The  same  thing  prevails 
with  the  nations  on  the  southwest  side  of  the  Missouri.  Those  toward 
the  south  have  generally  vast  numbers  of  horses,  males,  and  asses, 
which  they  obtain  in  trade,  or  war,  from  the  Spaniards  or  nations  imme- 
diately bordering  on  New  Mexico.  These  animals  are  chiefly  trans 
ferred  to  the  nations  northeast  of  the  river  by  such  of  the  southern 
tribes  as  happen  to  be  on  good  terms  with  them,  who  obtain  in  exchange 
European  articles,  procured  from  the  British  traders.  Their  stock  of 
horses  requires  to  be  constantly  renewed  by  thefts  or  purchases.  From 
the  severity  of  the  climate  and  the  little  care  taken  of  the  foals,  the 
animal  would  otherwise  be  in  danger  of  becoming  extinct.  Their  mode 
of  trading  with  each  other  is  perfectly  primitive.  There  is  no  bargain- 
ing or  dispute  about  price.  A  nation  or  tribe  comes  to  a  village,  encamps 
near  it,  and,  after  demonstrations  of  a  thousand  barbarous  civilities  on 
both  sides,  as  sincere  as  those  which  are  the  result  of  refinement,  one  of 
the  parties  makes  a  general  present  of  all  such  articles  as  it  can  con- 


1  Archteol.  Inst.  Am.  (Am.  Series),  in,  1890,  p.  \M,  quoting  Espojo  and  Castaneda. 

4 Parkman,  "History  of  the  Conspiracy  of  I'oiitiar,"  etc.,  Boston,  1891,  i,  p.  L'lf, 
referring  to  Mercier,  " ;  Relation  des  Hurons,"  1637,  p.  171.  Also  F.  J.  Turner,  Johns 
Hopkins  University  Studies  iu  Historical  and  Political  Science,  Series  9,  Nos.  xi-xil. 

:| "  Relations  des  Jesuites,"  1640,  Tome  I,  34.  "Ceux-cy  out  au  Nord  les  Timiscimi, 
les  Outinaagami,  l«-s  Onachegami,  h-s  Mitchitamoii,  les  Outurbi,  les  Kiristinon  «|iii 
habitant  sur  les  riuves  de  la  mer  du  Nord  oh  les  Nipisiriuieus  vont  eu  murchaudisc." 

'Roger  Williams.  Coll.  R.  I.  Hist.  800.,  I,  p.  183. 


588  REPORT   OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

veniently  spare.  The  other  a  short  time  after  makes  in  return  a  similar 
present.  The  fair  is  then  concluded  by  a  variety  of  games,  sports,  and 
dances.  They  hold  the  mode  of  trading  by  the  whites  in  great  con- 
tempt. They  say  it  displays  a  narrow  and  contemptible  soul  to  be 
weighing  and  counting  every  trifle.  The  price  is  usually  fixed  by  the 
chief  and  his  council,  and  the  nation  as  well  as  traders  must  submit.1 

The  Crows  annually  visit  the  Mandans,  Minnetarees,  and  Ahwahha 
ways,  to  whom  they  barter  horses,  mules,  leather  lodges,  and  many 
articles  of  Indian  apparel,  for  which  they  receive  in  return  guns,  ammu- 
nition, axes,  kettles,  awls,  and  other  European  manufactures.  When 
they  return  to  their  country  they  are  in  turn  visited  by  the  Paunch 
and  Snake  Indians,  to  whom  they  barter  most  of  the  articles  they  have 
obtained  from  the  nations  on  the  Missouri  for  horses  and  mules,  of 
which  those  nations,  i.  e.,  the  Paunch  and  Snake,  have  a  greater  abun- 
dance than  themselves.  They  also  obtain  of  the  Snake  Indians  bridle- 
bits  and  blankets  and  some  other  articles  which  those  Indians  purchase 
from  the  Spaniards.  The  bridle-bits  I  have  seen  in  the  possession  of 
the  Mandans  and  Minnetarees.2 

In  the  volumes  of  Lewis  and  Clark  the  Arikaree  are  described  as  mid- 
dle men.  Being  agriculturists,  their  corn,  beans,  and  other  products 
enabled  them  to  procure  peltry  from  other  tribes  and  to  exchange  these 
with  the  white  traders  for  goods.  The  Arikaree  are  described  as  will- 
ing to  give  anything  they  had  to  spare  for  the  most  trifling  article. 
One  of  the  men  gave  an  Indian  a  hook  made  out  of  a  pin,  and  received 
in  return  a  pair  of  moccasins.3 

The  buffalo  is  procured  by  the  Skilloot  from  the  nations  higher  up 
the  river,  who  occasionally  visit  the  Missouri;  indeed,  the  greater  pro- 
portion of  their  apparel  is  brought  by  the  nations  to  the  northwest,  who 
come  to  trade  for  pounded  fish,  copper,  and  beads.4 

TheChilkats  and  Chilkoots  will  not  allow  the  inland  tribes  to  approach 
the  coast  with  their  furs,  but  insist  on  acting  as  middlemen  between 
them  and  the  white  traders.  For  this  reason  they  assure  themselves 
whether  or  not  anyone  comes  to  trade  with  these  inland  tribes.5 

Among  the  coast  Indians  north  of  Puget  Sound  there  are  in  each 
tribe  officers  who  keep  record  of  the  mutual  debts  of  individuals — a 
kind  of  public  ledger.  The  astonishing  thing  is  the  fact  that  these  men 
hold  the  accounts  in  their  memories.  There  is  also  a  fixed  rule  about 
interest — that  is,  the  amount  of  property  that  must  be  returned  for  a 
gift  or  a  loan. 

The  Makahs,  from  their  peculiar  locality,  have  been  for  many  years 

'Brackenridge,  "Views  of  Louisiana."  1811,  p.  71. 

3"  History  of  the  Expedition  under  the  command  of  Lewis  and  Clark,  1804-1806/' 
New  York,  1893,  i,  p.  198,  quoting  from  Lewis's  "  Statistical  View,"  London,  1807, 
p.  25. 

3  Ibid.,  i,  p.  164. 

« Ibid.,  in,  p.  957. 

6  H.  W.  Seton-Karr,  Proc.  Roy.  Geog.  Soc.,  London,  1891,  xni,  p.  82. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND   TRANSPORTATION.  589 

the  medium  of  conducting  the  traffic  between  the  Columbia  River  and 
coast  tribes  south  of  Cape  Flattery,  and  the  Indians  north  as  far  as 
Nootka.  They  are  emphatically  a  trading  as  well  as  a  producing  peo- 
ple: and  in  these  respects  are  far  superior  to  the  Clallams  and  other 
tribes  on  Fuca  Strait  and  Puget  Sound.  Before  the  white  men  came 
to  this  part  of  the  country,  and  when  the  Indian  population  on  the 
Pacific  Coast  had  not  been  reduced  in  numbers,  as  it  has  IMTII  of  late 
years,  they  traded  largely  with  the  Chinook  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia,  making  excursions  as  far  as  the  Kwinaiult  tribe  at  Point 
Grenville,  where  they  met  the  Chinook  traders,  and  some  of  the  more 
venturesome  would  even  continue  on  to  the  Columbia,  passing  through 
the  Chehalis  country  at  Grays  Harbor  and  Shoal  water  Bay.  The  Chi- 
nook and  Chihalis  would  in  like  manner  come  north  as  far  as  Cape 
Flattery;  and  these  trading  excursions  were  kept  up  pretty  regularly, 
with  only  the  interruption  of  occasional  feuds.1 

All  the  tribes  living  on  Puget  Sound  sold  strings  of  dried  clams  and 
oysters  to  the  interior  tribes.  The  Haida  went  down  to  Vancouver  Island 
every  winter  and  dried  these  mollusks  to  carry  home  and  use  in  barter. 

It  was  their  custom  to  catch  and  dry  not  only  enough  for  their  own 
use,  but  also  a  vast  quantity  for  the  purpose  of  trade  with  the  inland 
and  mountain  tribes.  Every  fall  they  loaded  their  canoes  with  dried 
salmon  and  sturgeon  and  quantities  of  hiaquas  and  went  to  the  Cas- 
cades (the  rapids  of  the  Columbia  River,  about  150  miles  from  its 
mouth),  where  they  met  the  Indians  from  the  mountains  and  plains  and 
bartered  their  dried  fish  and  hiaquas  for  slaves  and  for  the  skins  and 
meat  of  the  buffalo.  They  used  the  buffalo  skins  for  making  their  sum- 
mer wigwams  and  their  winter  clothing  and  beds.  The  gray  seal, 
beaver,  and  otter  were  abundant  in  and  about  the  mouth  of  the  Colum- 
bia and  its  tributaries;  and  bear,  panther,  elk,  and  deer  roamed  the 
forests  at  will,  but  the  Chinook  were  fishermen,  not  hunters,  and  killed 
only  enough  of  the  land  game  to  partially  supply  them  with  meat  and 
skins. 

In  olden  times  the  Chinook  dealt  very  largely  in  slaves.  Trading 
as  they  did  with  the  inland  Indians — who  were  much  of  the  time  at 
war  with  each  other,  and,  making  slaves  of  their  prisoners,  desired  a 
market  that  would  take  these  slaves  as  far  as  possible  from  their  native 
country — the  Chinook  had  a  tine  opportunity  to  purchase  and  bring 
these  slaves  to  the  coast  These  they  sold  to  the  tribes  both  north  and 
south,  realizing  a  handsome  profit,  and  becoming  the  wealthiest  nation 
in  all  that  part  of  the  country.2 

On  account  of  the  demand  for  animal  products,  commerce  extended 
in  the  Southwest  over  much  greater  expanses  than  might  be  supposed. 
Iridescent  shells  from  the  Gulf  of  California  found  their  way  to  Zufii 
through  Sonora  and  the  Colorado  peoples.  The  Hova,  who  dwelt  in 

1  Swan,  "  Indians  of  Cape  Flattery/'  Washington,  1869,  pp.  30-32. 

2  Strong,  "  Wah  kee  nah  and  Her  People,"  New  York,  1893,  Putnam,  pp.  126-127. 


590  REPORT    OF    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

Sonora  and  Chihuahua,  exchanged  the  feathers  of  the  large  green  par- 
rot for  greenstone.  At  Casas  Graudes,  Bandelier  saw  turquoises,  shell 
beads,  and  marine  snails;  among  the  latter,  species  found  only  in  the 
West  Indies  or  in  the  Gulf  of  Calffornia;  among  others,  Turritella 
broderipiana  from  the  Pacific,  Conus  proteus  from  the  West  Indies,  and 
Conns  regularis  from  the  west  coast  of  Mexico.1 

"The  possession  of  turquoise  in  the  small  range  of  mountains  called 
Cerillos  gave  the  Tanos  Indians,  of  Galisteo  Basin,  a  prominent  posi- 
tion among  their  neighbors.  The  Zuiii  enjoy  similar  privileges,  which 
cause  their  modest  relations  of  commerce  to  extend  as  far  as  the  iute 
rior  of  Sonora  and  the  Colorado  of  the  West."2 

When  Marcos  de  .Niza  was  thirty  days'  journey  from  Cibola  he  talked 
with  Indians  who  had  been  there.  "  Upon  being  asked  why  they  had 
traveled  so  far  from  home,  they  answered  that  they  were  going  in 
search  of  turquoises,  hides  of  cattle,  and  other  things  ;  *  *  *  that 
they  were  in  the  habit  of  going  into  the  first  cities  of  the  province  and 
serving  the  inhabitants  by  tilling  the  soil  and  in  other  occupations,  for 
which  they  received  in  exchange  hides  and  turquoises."3 

The  first  President  of  Mexico  had  in  his  employ  a  Tejos  Indian,  the 
son  of  a  merchant  engaged  in  trading,  in  the  interior  of  the  country, 
bird  feathers,  to  be  made  into  plumes,  for  gold  and  silver.  This  Indian 
said  he  had  made  two  trips  with  his  father  to  Cibola.4  This  connects 
the  city  of  Mexico  with  Zuiii. 

Bandelier  speaks  of  the  civilized  tribes  of  Central  Granada,  who 
carried  their  salt  over  the  beaten  mountain  paths  to  the  cannibal 
inhabitants  of  the  Cauca  Valley  and  received  gold  in  exchange  for  it.5 

The  most  precious  commodity  among  the  Muysca  was  salt.  In 
white  cakes,  like  sugar  loaves,  it  was  carried  over  beaten  paths  from 
Bogota  west  to  the  river  Cauca,  and  north  from  tribe  to  tribe  down 
the  Magdalena  for  a  distance  of  100  leagues.  Regular  markets  were 
maintained,  even  in  hostile  territories,  and  the  Muysca  received  in 
exchange  for  their  goods,  gold,  of  which  they  were  destitute  and 
which  their  neighbors  had  in  abundance.6 

Each  tribe  of  British  Guiana  has  some  manufacture  peculiar  to  itself, 
and  its  members  constantly  visit  the  other  tribes,  often  hostile,  for  the 
purpose  of  exchanging  the  products  of  their  own  labor  for  such  as  are 
produced  only  by  the  other  tribes.  These  trading  Indians  are  allowed 
to  pass  unmolested  through  the  enemy's  country.  When  living  among 
the  Macusi,  I  was  often  amused  by  a  number  of  those  Indians  rushing 
into  my  house,  in  the  walls  of  which  we  had  had  windows  pierced,  who, 
with  bated  breath,  half  in  joy,  half  in  terror,  used  to  point  through  the 


1  Bandelier,  Archaeol.  lust.  Am.  (Am.  Series),  HI,  p.  39. 

2Ibid.,  p.  36. 

:l  Davis,  "  Spanish  Conquest  of  New  Mexico,"  p.  123. 

«Ibi<l.,  p.  113. 

» "The  Gilded  Man,"  New  York,  181)3,  p.  6. 

e  Ibid. 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION.  591 

vviiidow  to  some  party  of  their  enemies,  the  Arecunas,  coming  with  cot- 
ton balls  and  blow  pipes  for  exchange.  It  is  these  traders  who  carry 
with  them  the  latest  news.1 

8.  Money  and  its  predecessors. — The  collection  of  primitive  money  in 
the  U.  S.  National  Museum  includes  those  objects  that  among  savages 
are  prized  not  only  for  their  intrinsic  qualities,  but  because  they  aftbrd 
fixed  standards  of  wealth  and  media  for  the  exchange  of  other  com- 
modities as  they  have  been  transported  from  tribe  to  tribe. 

1.  Shells,  different  species  in  different  localities. 

2.  Disks  of  shell,  that  is  manufactured  money. 

3.  Feathers,  in  tufts  or  made  up  into  standard  ornaments. 

4.  Blankets,  skins,  and  robes. 

5.  Cut  stone. 

Long-distance  carrying  and  multiplied  handlings,  added  to  t\\> 
of  production,  created  money,  and  thus  the  things  to  be  handled  and 
carried  were  so  greatly  increased  in  number  by  the  demand  for  them 
that  the  ultimate  price  was  lowered  by  the  transportation. 

The  original  treasure  of  the  Pueblo  Indian  consisted  of  shell  beads, 
green  stones,  and  of  objects  of  worship.  Many  a  good  horse  is  still 
purchased  from  the  Navajo  by  means  of  turquoises  alone.  Bandolier 
also  refers  to  the  exchange  of  turquoises  for  parrots'  plumes,  quoting 
Cabeo,a  de  Vaca.2 

The  Samoa  1 1  women  manufactured  tine  mats  from  "the  leaves  of  a 
species  of  hibiscus,  scraped  clean  and  thin  as  writing  paper  and  slit 
into  strips  about  the  sixteenth  of  an  inch  wide.  When  completed  they 
were  from  2  to  3  yards  square.  Few  of  the  women  can  make  them,  and 
many  months,  yea,  years,  are  sometimes  spent  over  the  plaiting  of  a 
single  mat.  These  fine  mats  are  considered  the  most  valuable  prop 
erty,  and  form  a  sort  of  currency  which  they  give  and  receive  in  exchange. 
They  are  preserved  with  great  care.  Some  of  them  pass  down  in  a 
family  through  several  generations,  and  as  their  age  and  historic  value 
increase  they  are  all  the  more  prized." :< 

!>.  Markets,  bazaarx,  ami  fairs. — In  a  museum  such  things  exist  in  pic 
tures.  photographs,  and  descriptions.  In  reality  the  market,  the  bazaar, 
and  the  fair  are  organized  and  temporary  gatherings  of  merchants  and 
buyers  agreed  upon  for  certain  hours,  months,  or  years  for  the  pur- 
poses of  exchange. 

They  become  more  and  more  world  embracing.  Primitively  they  are 
known  to  have  existed  on  each  of  the  continents  and  to  have  furnished 
temporary  political  and  industrial  centers  of  great  stimulus.  In  all  the 
epochs  of  culture  few  stimuli  to  universal  travel  have  been  greater. 
They  are  in  the  same  class  with  convocations,  anniversaries,  and  public 
fetes.  But  they  involve  carrying  no  less  than  travel.  In  a  paper  now 

1  im  Thnrn,  "Indians  of  British  Guiana,"  London,  1883,  p.  271. 

r.audelier,  Archu-ol.  Inst.  Am.  (Am.  Series),  in,  1890,  p.  213. 
Turner,  "Samoa  u  Hundred  Years  ago  uinl  Long  Before,"  London,  1884,  p.  120. 


592  REPORT    OF   NATIONAL    MUSEUM,  1894. 

being  prepared  on  American  Aboriginal  Industries  a  list  of  trade  cen- 
ters on  the  Western  Continent  will  be  given. 

10.  'Amnesty  and  laws  of  travel. — Finally,  there  do  not  seem  to  have 
been  anywhere  in  the  world  tribes  of  savages  living  contiguous  that 
did  not  grant  special  amnesty  to  travelers  and  carriers  and  traders. 
From  these  agreements  have  sprung  international  law,  the  latest  word 
in  the  comity  of  nations. 

In  the  development  of  the  rudiments  of  international  law,  the  estab- 
lishment of  treaties,  and  agreements  concerning  amnesty  the  trader 
or  mercator  must  have  been  a  largely  ruling  motive.  International 
law  was  and  is  largely  evoked  by  the  exigencies  of  trade  movements. 

"If  any  robbery  fall  out  in  travell,  between  persons  of  diverse  States, 
the  offended  State  sends  for  Justice.  If  no  Justice  be  granted  and 
recompence  made,  they  grant  out  a  kind  of  Letter  of  Mart  to  take 
satisfaction  themselves,  yet  they  are  carefull  not  to  exceed  in  taking 
from  others,  beyond  the  proportion  of  their  own  losse." '  There  is  no 
doubt  of  trade  amnesty  and  the  law  of  reprisals,  but  it  is  questionable 
whether  the  old  rule  was  not  interpreted  as  elsewhere  to  mean  "an  eye 
for  an  eye,"  etc.,  or  even  more  than  that. 

Cabe9a  de  Vaca  remained  among  the  Charruco  Indians  six  years 
(1528-1533),  dressing  like  a  savage.  He  traveled  as  a  peddler  from 
tribe  to  tribe  over  many  hundreds  of  square  miles.  This  was  said  to 
be  convenient  to  the  Indians  because  they  could  not  traffic  in  time 
of  war.  Into  the  interior  Cabega  carried  sea  snails  and  their  corn, 
medicine,  sea  beads,  etc.,  and  brought  back  skins,  ocher,  flint,  cement, 
arrow  shafts,  tassels  of  deerskin,  ornamented  and  dyed  red.  He  was 
treated  kindly  everywhere,  the  Indians  trading  food  for  wares.  He 
became  a  person  of  great  importance  and  was  much  sought  after.2 

As  intimated  more  than  once  in  this  paper,  travel  and  transportation 
by  land  pass  in  their  elaboration  from  man  power  to  the  forces  of  phys- 
ical nature  through  the  epoch  of  beast  power,  and  it  will  be  in  order,  in 
a  subsequent  paper,  to  study  out  the  rude  appliances  and  methods  of 
primitive  peoples  in  their  first  employment  of  domestic  creatures  to 
carry  them  on  their  backs,  to  haul  them  in  some  sort  of  conveyance,  or 
to  draw  loads  for  them. 

There  are  a  number  of  elements  which  enter  into  the  organization  of 
traveling  on  foot  which  pass  into  more  definite  forms  as  soon  as  beasts 
take  the  place  of  men  in  the  labors  here  considered,  such,  for  instance, 
are  roads,  bridges,  harness,  and  others,  which  it  will  be  necessary  to 
consider  or  to  investigate  with  much  greater  care  in  the  study  which 
follows. 

It  is  also  more  than  once  mentioned  that  the  two  great  phases  of 
carrying  were  by  land  and  by  water.  It  will  be  in  order,  therefore,  to 
follow  this  paper  with  a  second  one,  in  which  should  be  studied  out  the 

1  Roger  Williams,  Coll.  R.  I.  Hist.  Soc.,  I,  p.  77. 

"Spanish  Couquest  of  New  Mexico,"  Doylestown,  1869,  p.  58, 


PRIMITIVE    TRAVEL x AND   TRANSPORTATION.  593 

inventions  of  the  lower  races  of  men  pertaining  to  the  use  of  water  as 
a  means  of  traveling  or  moving  burdens.  The  first  devices  of  this  kind 
were  simply  floats  for  bearing  up  the  human  body  or  some  sort  of  load, 
in  order  to  move  it  aeross  still  water.  Many  substances  were  employed 
in  this  eapaeity,  such  as  very  light  wood,  the  hollow  stems  <>f  plants, 
the  skins  of  animals  inflated,  and  vessels  of  pottery.  The  second  step 
in  the  elaboration  of  water  conveyance  was  that  in  which  some  kind  of 
displacement  took  the  place  of  mere  flotation.  As  soon  as  means  wen 
found  to  direct  the  course  of  a  floating  body,  the  ship  was  in  progress 
of  invention. 

Among  primitive  forms  for  navigation  the  earliest  represent  the 
efforts  of  the  human  mind  to  devise  the  rudder,  the  fixed  keel,  the 
shifting  sail,  and  means  for  storing  up  provisions  for  a  long  journey. 
As  soon  as  these  were  achieved,  savagery  changed  to  barbarism  or 
civilization,  and  the  limits  of  this  study  were  fixed. 
H.  Mis.  90,  pt.  2 38 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FAOUTY 

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